Worth Fighting For
by Zetsubouaichan
Summary: He abdicated the throne to escape the palace life for his freedom. And she gave up her freedom to ascend the throne as the king's substitute. How is it that he found himself back into the palace life—the princess's palace, as her warrior, hiding his identity while defending the princess against her enemy?
1. The Missing King

**Worth Fighting For  
Chapter 1: The Missing King**

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_**He abdicated the throne to escape the palace life for his freedom. And she had give up her freedom when she ascend the throne as her brother; the king's substitute. How is it that he found himself back into the palace life—the princess palace, as her warrior, hiding his identity while defending the princess against her enemy? What will happen when the princess learns of his true identity?**_

_****__**Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me.**_

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Sakura took a pile of card—Sakura cards on her desk and began to mix the cards by cutting and shuffling them. She woke up earlier in the morning for a quick card reading. A routine she adapted when she learnt to use her Sakura cards.

Sakura then began to spread the cards out from left to right, forming a straight line. Then, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate. Slowly, she opened her eyes and studied the line of card before she pulled one of them. Sakura turned the card over and gasped.

Bad omen.

"Touya," she muttered unconsciously. Her eyes were still gazing at her cards, trying to figure out the premonition when someone knocked on her door.

She startled.

Sakura stood up and watched her lady-in-waiting; Mihara Chiharu entered her room.

"Your highness," Chiharu said with a curtsey. "Advisor Tsukishiro seek for your audience."

Sakura nodded, signaling Chiharu to let Yukito in. She tightened her lips impatiently when she saw the young advisor walked in. Sakura signaled Chiharu to leave them alone and leaped towards Yukito into a hug.

"It has been five days. I'm worried," she said when they broke off. "The ministers—the people are worried, Yukito. Would you please tell me where my brother went to? He was involved in something dangerous, isn't he?"

Yukito had an uneasy look on his face.

"The cards show me that something happen to him. But, I couldn't really understand what it was trying to tell me. Yukito, you have to tell me where he went to. What is he planning? Perhaps I could find him. Perhaps I could help," she sighed with frustration when Yukito gave no hint to tell her where Touya had gone missing. "Aren't you worried at all?"

"Princess Sakura," Yukito called softly.

Sakura bit her lip at her accusation. She of all people should know how worried Yukito is that Touya had gone missing for days. After all, Yukito is the king's most trusted advisor. His confidant. His lover.

"I'm sorry," she swallowed. "I shouldn't have said that. Of course you are worried," Sakura paced towards her desk and buried her face under her palm for a brief second, trying to compose herself.

Yukito's gaze softened. He inched towards the princess and pulled her into a hug, patting her hair. She was like a sister to him.

"You're right," Yukito broke the silence, breaking away from his embrace. He looked straight into her emerald eyes and sighed. "You do deserve to know the truth."

"You will tell me where Touya went to?"

"I will," Yukito nodded. His lips curved into a small smile, watching Sakura's face brightened. "But I need you to see this first."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the piece of paper in Yukito's hand. "What is it?"

"Touya wanted me to give this to you if he didn't return in the period that he promised you. I thought about keeping this longer because I believe that he will return us," he said, watching the princess to unfold the letter. "But I think this is very crucial right now."

**xxx**

_Dearest Sakura,_

_If this letter has reached your hands, then know that I can't return to you as I have promised. I will return. But until I finish my task, I shall not return to Clow Country. I need you to look after Clow Country until I return. Yukito will be there to assist you. I trust that the future of Clow Country lies within your hand._

_I'm sorry for breaking my promise, but know that I will always love you. Take care of yourself._

_Your brother, Touya_

**xxx**

Sakura looked up to Yukito with confusion. "Yukito? What is the meaning of this? What does Touya mean by—"

"Touya wanted you to have this," Yukito fished into his pocket and pulled out a strap with Touya's jade emblem and handed them to Sakura. "You're going to need this to ascend the throne as his substitute."

Sakura laughed nervously. Then, she stopped abruptly noticing the seriousness in Yukito's face. "What do you mean by that? Ascend the throne? Me?" Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. "Tell me what is Touya up to? Why does he need me to look after Clow Country? What could possibly be more important than his people?"

"Touya—he didn't want you to know what he's been up to because he was up to because he was worried on your safety."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean my safety?"

"He," Yukito paused, looking contemplated on what he was about to tell her. "He was investigating the late king's death."

"My father?" her eyes widened. "Why?"

Yukito took a deep breath. "Touya received an anonymous letter six months ago. The letter hinted that your father, the late King Fujitaka death was no illness. He was poisoned to death."

"No," Sakura shook her head. "That doesn't sounds like Touya at all. He wouldn't just leave the country because of certain uncertainty. The letter could be bogus."

"That's what Touya thought too. But suspicious things around your father's death arose when he began his investigation."

"Like what?" Sakura asked impatiently.

"He found out that your father's physical records were altered by the Royal Physician. There were medicine and tonic prescribed, but never drank by your father. Touya knew this because he was the one who looked after those medicine prescribed."

Sakura set her eyes firmly on Yukito's. "If that is true, why haven't Touya said anything to me? He could have come and discuss this matter with me."

"He can't. Because your life would be in danger," Yukito took a deep breath when he noticed Sakura was about to protest. "I will tell you everything you need to know. But please listen to me first."

Sakura pondered for a moment and gave him an uncertain nod.

"Sakura, there were a few attempts to kill your brother when he ascend the throne."

"What? Attempt murder? Touya?"

"The attacks frequent when he was investigating your father," Yukito continued. "Touya was afraid that that someone might be after your life if you learn anything about your father's death."

Sakura staggered. She held to the frame of her table to support herself. Then she looked up to Yukito with doubt in her eyes. "Wait, if Touya didn't want to tell me any of this because he was worried on my safety. Then, why are you telling this to me now?"

His eyes softened. "Because I want you to know what you're about to get into if you were to accept Touya's order to step in as his substitute. You need to know what you are dealing with in the future."

**xxx**

"I don't get it. Most men would rather stay in the palace, living in luxury," Yamazaki complained. He drew his sword and grazed the ground with the tip of his sword. Then he raised his sword and pointed it towards Syaoran. "And you. You decided to abdicate your throne and let go of your position as the future king for this."

"You're lucky I'm no longer a crown prince," Syaoran snickered. "You could be executed for pointing your sword to me."

Yamazaki put aside his sword and raised both hand in surrender. "I'm sorry."

Syaoran adjusted the saddle onto his horse and raised a brow to Yamazaki. "Would you like to return to Hong Kong then? I could always write a recommendation letter for you and let them assign you to some important department."

"And let you travel without companion? No," Yamazaki shook his head. "I don't think so. You may no longer be a crown prince, Li Syaoran. But you're still a prince. Your parents would murder me for leaving you unprotected."

"I could always ask them to send someone else to take your place."

"You wouldn't do that. You don't trust any other soldiers other than me. I'm your most trusted bodyguard slash comrade."

Syaoran chuckled. "You're quite full of yourself."

Yamazaki shrugged. "I thought that I could live in peace and luxury when I decided to follow you. But then, you decided to step down from your throne to see the world. I just don't get what were you thinking."

"I had enough of palace politic and those ministers who won't stop fawning over me for their own benefits," Syaoran told him. "I've been dealing with politics ever since I was five. I want to break away from it. And there were a lot more I can do to my people when I'm out here instead of staying in the palace."

"And you're okay with your cousin taking over the throne?" Yamazaki tested. "You're not jealous that he has a lot more power than you have?"

Syaoran snickered as he remembered his distance cousin, Hiiragizawa Eriol. The one he had forced to take over his place as the crown prince two months ago. The ministers had protested his decision. They found it inappropriate although Eriol is a royal bloodline. But Syaoran had made his mind on abdicating his crown and nothing the ministers had said would change his mind about it. Therefore, his parents decided to adopt Eriol as their own son. And the ministers' protest was silenced.

"I wouldn't trade my freedom for power." Syaoran said, grinning. "According to hierarchy, I could refer Eriol as my great-great uncle. But that would irritate him. Our parents decided to assume us as cousin—distance cousin as they call it because we're the same age."

Yamazaki frowned at the complication of the royal family tree.

"Besides, I think Eriol is more suitable as the king. I didn't know how he does it, but the minister seems to be terrified of him. And I know that he's going to be a great king someday," Syaoran mounted his horse and raised a brow towards Yamazaki. "Are you going to continue chit chatting or are you going to go with me?"

Yamazaki grunted. He mounted his horse and turned to Syaoran. "Where are we going this time?"

"Clow Country," Syaoran smiled. "We've never been there, but, Feimei mentioned that the king of Clow Country invented a new martial art technique for his army. I'm curious."

"We're making a trip to Clow Country so that you can learn about this new martial art?"

Syaoran raised a brow. "You got any problem with that?"

"No. Of course not," Yamazaki shook his head. He let Syaoran led the way and follow closely to him. "Here we go again," Yamazaki muttered under his breath. "Martial arts craze prince."

**xxx**

Sakura fidgeted as she stood behind the door. Her head poked into the hall to get a better view on what is going on inside and saw a few ministers were talking, discussing among themselves. She drew back and leaned towards the door.

"Everything will be alright," Yukito told her. "Just remember that I will be here to support you."

"Thank you," Sakura smiled weakly. She drew a deep breath and turned around, striding into the assembly hall with fake confidence. Yukito was following closely behind her.

"Your highness, Princess Sakura," the ministers bowed at her presence.

"Your highness," Akira, the minister of war spoke when Sakura was seated. "I had dispatched the soldiers to search for the king everywhere. But none of them are having luck. I'm afraid that continuing the search for the king would be a waste of our source."

"A waste?" Sakura snapped.

Akira bowed his head, cowering.

"You're sending your soldiers out to look for the king," Sakura continued. "Your king! How dare you say something like that?"

"But your highness," Sato, the minister of finance spoke. "It has been days that the king went missing. Who knows what happened to him and his bodyguard in the woods. Perhaps we could declare him as de—."

Sakura shot a menacing glare to the minister. "My brother is alive! I knew that he is alive somewhere!"

"How could he abandon his people if he is still alive?" Akira said. "Your highness, you may not notice how serious this situation is for you were not much involved with the country affair. But this country could not go on without a king. The people would panic and suffer as the consequences."

Sakura leaned back to her chair to compose herself. "What are you suggesting, minister?"

The ministers turn to look at each other before Akira spoke again, "Your highness, new leadership is required to calm the people. I'm suggesting that we should appoint a new king—an acting king to run the country."

Sakura swallowed, trying to muster her courage before she tells them what's on her mind.

"I think, Prime Minister Nakano is the perfect man for this job," Akira continued.

Sakura paused. She peered towards Nakano and watched him smiling in approval to the other ministers. Then she turned to look at Yukito beside her and saw him nodded. "No," she said cutting Akira from continuing his praise to the prime minister.

"No?" Akira blinked. "Your highness, what do you mean by that? Perhaps you have your own candidate to step up as an acting king?"

"I will step up as an acting king," Sakura announced. The minister gasped. They turned to each other and began to whispering, discussing, and protesting.

Sakura grasped the arm of her chair tightly as she was trying to control her nervousness. She closed her eyes in a brief second as she tried to remember what Yukito had taught her to say to the ministers.

"Your highness," Nakano said, chuckling a bit. His head shook in disapproval. "You cannot step up as an acting king. You are a princess. A woman ruling a country is unheard of. This is against our tradition!"

"I haven't read anything in our constitutional which says that a woman could not rule the country," Sakura retorted. She pulled out Touya's jade emblem from her sleeve and held it up to showcasing them to the ministers. "Touya—the king handed his emblem to me as a sign that I shall ascend as his substitute until he return. "I'm claiming the throne as per the king's order."

"But your highness," Sato said, "You must understand that this isn't appropriate."

"And I understand that my brother is still the king," Sakura said. Confidence flowed into her. "And his order remains as a king's order before a new king is appointed. Are you trying to defy his order to have me as his substitute, minister?"

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**-End of Chapter 1: The Missing King-**


	2. The Commander's Invitation

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For**

_Sakura pulled out Touya's jade emblem out of her sleeve and held it up to showcase them to the ministers. "Touya—the king handed his emblem to me as a sign that I shall ascend as his substitute until he return. I'm claiming the throne as per the king's order."_

"_But your highness," Sato said, "You must understand that this isn't appropriate."_

"_And I understand that my brother is still the king," Sakura said. Confidence flowed into her. "And his order remains as a king's order before a new king is appointed. Are you trying to defy his order to have me as his substitute, minister?"_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For  
Chapter 2: The Commander's Invitation**

* * *

"You're unbelievable!" Yamazaki shook his head. "You're actually planning to pay your visit to the king as soon as we get to the city? Can you not wait until we check into a rest house or something? Or perhaps after we got something to eat? Aren't you hungry?"

"I'm not really hungry." Syaoran shrugged as he slid down from the horse. He turned to Yamazaki and frowned. "Are you?"

"Yes!" he answered. "In fact I'm starving. We should take a short break and grab something to eat. You may not know it, but I had this disease where I would die if I didn't take a short break after a long journey."

Syaoran smirked and shook his head lightly. "Do you think I would fall for your lies?"

Yamazaki chuckled. When they were a lot younger, he had told Syaoran several of his made up stories. Syaoran would always believe in his stories, especially when the current Crown Prince, Eriol would always backup his story. But as they grew up, Syaoran had stopped believing in his story when he found out that his stories were all silly lies. "Well prince, this was not a lie. Have you ever heard of malnutrition? People die if they don´t have enough rest or nutrient in their body."

"Alright, alright, I hear you," Syaoran raised both his hand, motioning that he's giving in. "Once we got into the city, we'll take a short break, and fill in our stomachs. Just don't call me a prince in public. I don't wish for people to know about my identity. I prefer to go incognito for the time being."

"Okay." Yamazaki grinned. "And Li, we need find a place to stay tonight. We better pick a rest house with a stable. Our horses need a place to rest too."

"Find a place to stay." Syaoran nodded. "Alright."

"Speaking of a place to stay, do you know that the first rest house was established by an old grandma by accident? Well, there's this old grandma who live up in the hill. And one day—"

"Oh, shut up. Or you can forget about resting once we arrived." Syaoran groaned. "I can't believe that I used to fall for all those stuff."

**xxx**

"What do you think happen to this country?" Yamazaki asked as soon as they entered the city of Clow Country. He looked around and saw that the locals seemed to be in alarm. "Clow Country is supposed to be a peaceful city. But I noticed that the people were in panic when we passed the last town. And it seems that the chaos is much worse in the city. Do you think we came at the bad time?"

"I don't know, I guess something big must have happen." Syaoran said with a shrug. He pulled his horse with its lead ropes and turned around to watch the people in the city discussing something that seemed important. "Whatever it is, I hope it doesn't interfere with our plan."

"Perhaps I should ask someone what really happen here." Yamazaki announced. His eyes wondered, searching for anyone to ask around. His eyes darted towards a young girl, standing a few feet away from him, studying a notice plastered on the board. Her brown hair braided into two pigtails. Yamazaki took a few steps forward and tapped his fingers on the girl's shoulder. "Excuse me."

Chiharu spun around. Her eyes widened at the sight of the stranger in front of her. "Yes?"

Yamazaki made a short pause as he was mesmerized by the girl's presence. "Erm, yes. I was wondering if you could tell me what happened here. It seems to be quite a commotion here."

Chiharu scrutinized the man before her cautiously. Looking at his attire, she was sure that he was not a local. "You're not from here."

"I'm not," Yamazaki admitted. "I just got into town. So I was wondering—"

"I see," she cleared her throat. "The people are panicking because of what happened with the royal family."

Yamazaki frowned. Clearly, he was a bit confused.

Chiharu cast a quick glance towards the notice and turned her attention back to Yamazaki, "You see, Princess Sakura ascended the throne as the king's substitute two days ago and she will rule the country in the king's stead."

"Why? What happened to the king? Did he pass away?"

"No, the king is still alive. We hope that he is still alive. It's just that…" Chiharu looked around and unconsciously leaned forward to him, as if she was making sure that nobody was listening to them. "The king is missing," she told him.

"What?" Yamazaki blinked.

"I should be going," Chiharu announced abruptly, remembering that she had to be in the castle soon. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay here," she said, bowing a bit before she sped away and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Yamazaki speechless.

"Well," Syaoran said, breaking Yamazaki from his trance as he gave him a pat on his shoulder. "What did the girl say?"

Yamazaki cleared his throat and turned to Syaoran. "You're right. Something big happened. I believe that the girl just told me that the king is missing..."

Syaoran frowned. "Missing?"

"... and the princess is ruling the country in the king's stead," he chuckled. "I've never heard anything about a princess ruling the country. It's no wonder that the kingdom is in chaos."

"What's wrong with a woman ruling a kingdom?" Syaoran raised a brow. "There's nothing wrong with woman ruling as long as she have the capability in doing so."

"I know that. But people won't have much confidence with a woman as a ruler. I think that's why the people are in panic and the country is in disorder."

Syaoran nodded. "They are scared of what will become of them. The princess might be pressured by other countries if she's weak. Right now, she needs to gain the ministers' full support and the confidence of her people. Only then will the country become stable."

**xxx**

"Your highness." Tomoyo uttered. Her voice contained a hint of relief at the sight of the princess.

Sakura signaled the guards at her door leave her and Tomoyo alone. When the soldiers had disappeared, she turned towards Tomoyo. "How are you?"

"That´s supposed to be my question." Tomoyo sighed. "How are _you_? Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded with a hint of smile.

"I was surprised when my mother announced that you had step up as the acting king. Or is it queen?"

"I am still a princess. Advisor Yukito suggested that I should have the title of Empress. But the ministry of culture said to entitle me as a Crown Princess. They said that titling me as an Empress could create more chaos as my brother is still the king."

"I bet the ministry just doesn't want to have you—a girl commanding them." Tomoyo shook her head. "Men and their egos. I assume that the ministers still despise the idea of you stepping in as the king's substitute?"

Sakura nodded. "I´ve never imagined that I would be in this situation as Touya's substitute." She fiddled with her fingers and smiled nervously. "I am afraid of what will happen. What if the people protest against having me as their ruler? I'm not sure that I will be a good ruler. I don't even like commanding my lady-in-waiting to do things for me. How am I supposed to command the ministers? Or my people?"

"You will be alright." Tomoyo convinced. "The people might be confused for a while with the sudden change to have you as their ruler. They will come around and give you their support, Sakura. The people adore you."

Sakura clenched her hand into a fist and unclenched them.

"They adored you before you became their ruler. I'm sure that they will continue adoring you as their ruler. You cared so much about them. The people know that too. You just have to give them a bit more time to adjust themselves with this new situation." Tomoyo reassured. "And as for the ministers, I'm positive they will soon give you their approval. You just have to make them trust you."

Sakura smiled at the thought of the two ministers who have become her supporters after the announcement. The first one is the minister of women's affair, Sonomi Daidouji from Daidouji clan.

Sonomi is the cousin of the late Queen Nadeshiko who was the first female minister of Clow Country . After the late queen passed away, Sonomi was elected to handle women's affair which was supposed to be the queen's task. Sakura often heard of how displeased the ministers were with the king's decision when she was small. But the ministers finally succumbed when King Fujitaka had promised that Sonomi shall not govern anything other than women's matter and that there shall be no other woman qualified as a minister after Sonomi.

The second minister is the minister of commerce, Kinomoto Jinnosuke, her uncle from her father side. He was King Fujitaka's youngest brother. He was not given the title of a prince since he was adopted by one of her grandfather's mistresses. Sakura wasn't really close with her uncle. She had always been scared of her uncle because he never smiled towards her. But knowing that her uncle is supporting her as Touya's substitute made her happy. At least she now knows her uncle actually cares about her.

Suddenly Chiharu barged into Sakura´s study exclaiming, "Your highness!". She casted a glance towards Sakura and gasped, noticing she was with a company. She bowed towards Tomoyo and turned to the princess. "Your highness," she repeated. This time more softly. "Two police officers from the police bureau seek for your audience."

"What does the police bureau want with me?" Sakura frowned. She watched Tomoyo excuse herself from the room and told Chiharu to let the police in.

"Your highness." Two men walked in and bowed as they entered. They were both wearing plain cloth, without any sign proving they are the police. The older man lifted his police badge to Sakura—showing that he was ranked as a captain. "We were sent by Commander Yue to escort you to the police bureau."

Sakura was stunned. She exchanged her glance with Chiharu and went back to the police. "Escort me to the police bureau? Why?"

"Commander Yue might have news on the king's whereabouts," the captain announced. The news instantly sparked Sakura's attention. "We have found the king's horses near Shadow Valley and we were told to escort you to the bureau so that you can confirm this fact."

"You have found my brother's horse?" Sakura swallowed. Her heartbeat increased. "A-and what about my brother?"

"I'm afraid that the king and his bodyguard are still missing, your highness."

"Oh." Sakura exhaled. She didn't notice that she had been holding her breath for a while.

"But the troops are going to continue their search," the captain continued, sensing the disappointment from the princess's gaze. "They believe that the king and his men must have been somewhere nearby. And that's why the commander asks for you. He wanted you to be the first to know anything before everything else become public."

Sakura pondered for a moment. Then, she straightened up and turned to her lady-in-waiting. "Chiharu, get ready. We're going out to visit Commander Yue."

**xxx**

It was dark at night as Sakura walked down the street cautiously with her trusted lady-in-waiting, Chiharu. She had her face hidden under her hooded dress to avoid any unwanted attention. Two police in their plain clothes were escorting them as they were heading to the police bureau. The captain was leading their way and the other police stayed on guard from behind.

"Your highness," Chiharu whispered. It has been half an hour since they have left the castle. But still there are no sign of being near the bureau. "Something is wrong. I don't think we're heading to the police bureau."

"What?" Sakura hissed. She slowed down her pace so that she was walking side by side with Chiharu. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm saying that this isn't the way to the bureau."

Sakura chewed on her lips to think. "Perhaps the men were leading us towards a shortcut to the bureau."

"I doubt so, your highness. The bureau is located in the west. And we're heading towards east."

Sakura halted immediately. Her heart raced upon hearing Chiharu's information. She then cleared her throat to grab the men's attention. "Excuse me, captain. Are you sure that this is the right route to the—" her sentence was left unfinished as the captain turned around with his sword pointing at her causing both girls to yelp in surprised.

"What are you doing?" Chiharu spat towards the captain. She grabbed Sakura by her hand to shield her from the captain's view. "Do you realize that you're pointing your sword at the ruler of this country?" She took a step back and paused, noticing that the other police also was pointing his sword towards them.

"I doubt that she will become the ruler of this country when she's dead," the captain replied.

The other police snickered. "You may scream all you want, princess. But I don't think anyone will come to your rescue."

Sakura swallowed. Her hand clenched on the key shaped locket hanging around her neck. Her mind weighed for any possible action she could take to handle the situation. Fight or flight. She wasn't sure how she would escape from the men. It wouldn't be hard for Sakura to perform basic self-defense as she had learned a few tricks from her brother. But there would be too much risk if she decided to fight back. After all they were both armless.

"Your highness," Chiharu shifted closely to Sakura. She pulled Sakura closer to whisper. "At the count of three, run. I will try to distract them and buy you some time." She released her gripped on Sakura's hand and pushed her once she noticed a chance for the princess to escape. "Your Highness, run!"

Sakura did as she was told—she ran. She turned to her side and saw that Chiharu was missing from her side. It was then that she realized what Chiharu was trying to pull. Chiharu was trying to sacrifice herself in exchange for her safety.

Sakura cursed. Her heart pounded when she turned around to watch one of the men slash Chiharu with his sword—a punishment for helping her to escape. "No!" Sakura shouted out at the top of her lung. She mustered her courage, charged forward and threw a kick towards the captain, just above his waist causing him to choke for air and stagger forward and lose his grip on his sword.

She took the chance to snatch his sword and pointed the sword towards the other police. "Stay back." she warned, swinging the sword as she made her way to her lady-in waiting. "Chi! You're wounded." Sakura said breathlessly, picking up Chiharu's body while struggling to hold her sword. "Wake up! Please wake up!" Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Your highness?" Chiharu asked. Her voice weakened. Her breathing increased. "Why didn't you escape?"

"There's no way that I could leave you behind," Sakura smiled an awkward smile. She cast a glance towards the men and swung her sword to distance herself away from those men. "Stay back!"

It worked. The men jerked back when the princess pointed her sword to them alternately.

"Princess, put down the sword or somebody would get hurt." the captain spoke cautiously. Slowly, he crept towards Sakura, sneaking a chance to retrieve his sword back.

"I said, stay back!" Sakura placed Chiharu gently on the soil and stood up. Her small hand held up the sword, pointing towards the men. The basic sword lesson she had with Touya rushed in her mind as she was trying to protect both herself and Chiharu. "What do you want from me?" Her eyes shifted between the two men taking precaution on what they might do to harm her.

"Now princess," the captain spoke again. "We hold no grudge against you. We're just doing what we were told to."

"Why would Commander Yue want me dead?" Sakura swung her sword towards the captain. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the captain was giving a cue for his friend to attack her. Sakura spun around and gasped as she saw the man lifting his sword to slash at her. She raised her sword to defend herself and heard the metal clanking above her.

Something was off.

She couldn't feel the pressure of the other party's sword against hers. Her heart pounded rapidly as she noticed it wasn't her sword that made the clanking sound. It was someone else's.

* * *

**End of Chapter 2: The Commander's Invitation**

* * *

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorite 'Worth Fighting For' in the first chapter. Also… I'd like to thank Hanna for editing and advising me in writing this story. Thank you m(_ _)m

How do you like the story so far? What will happen to Sakura? Whose sword was it that clanked above her? Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out **:)**


	3. Scapegoat

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For**

_"Why would Commander Yue want me dead?" Sakura swung her sword towards the captain. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the captain was giving a cue for his friend to attack her. Sakura spun around and gasped as she saw the man lifting his sword to slash at her. She raised her sword to defend herself and heard the metal clanking above her._

_Something was off._

_She couldn't feel the pressure of the other party's sword against hers. Her heart pounded rapidly as she noticed it wasn't her sword that made the clanking sound. It was someone else's._

* * *

**Worth Fighting For  
Chapter 3: Scapegoat**

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Sakura instantly turned toward the stranger's sword which shielded her from the attackers and slowly, her gaze crept up to study his face. She noticed his messy chocolate hair and intense, big brown eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the police spat. He swung his sword to Syaoran, and failed when Syaoran blocked his attack with his sword. Then, Syaoran landed a punch towards his stomach, causing the "police" to draw back, gasping for air.

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asked again. His eyes focused on his opponent, but his question was directed to Sakura.

Sakura nodded furiously. "Yes." She turned around when she heard a thump and saw the captain lying unconsciously on the ground. Another stranger stood beside him.

"Yamazaki." Syaoran called out without turning back to his subordinate. His gaze was still on the attacker, studying his movement. "Get the girls out of here. Take the wounded one to a doctor. She needs medical treatment as soon as possible."

Yamazaki slid his sword into its sheath and turned to both Sakura and Chiharu. When Sakura pointed her sword at him, he raised both of his hands up in defense. "Relax. I'm here to help you. I'm not going to hurt you or your friend."

Sakura followed his gaze and was now looking at Chiharu who was lying unconsciously on the ground. Her eyes shifted between Yamazaki and Chiharu. She was hesitant to trust him. After what she had gone through with the "police" a few seconds ago, she wasn't sure if she could trust him. But they saved her life. And Chiharu really needed treatment.

Sakura leveled her sword down hesitantly and gave Yamazaki an approving nod.

Yamazaki stepped cautiously towards Chiharu and kneeled beside her. He let out a gasp as reorganization hit him. He had seen the girl earlier today. She was the girl that he previously met in town!

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked in alarm.

Yamazaki shook his head slowly. "Nothing." Quickly, he bent down to study her pulse and studied her breathing. He pressed his ear against Chiharu's chest to get a clear look on her breathing. Then, he proceeded to study her wound.

"How is she?" Sakura asked impatiently.

"We need to get her to the doctor immediately or she'll lose more blood," Yamazaki picked up Chiharu gently and lifted her to his back. Then he turned to Sakura. "Come on. We need to get out from here. You have to lead me to the nearest hospital."

Sakura nodded. Then, her gaze turned to Syaoran. He had his sword back into the sheath and was fighting the police bare handed. It may look unfair for him to battle against an armed man, but Sakura could tell that he was winning. She frowned, noticing something different about him. His fighting style was different than the one which were always practiced in Clow Country or their neighboring country, Japan. It was something that Sakura hadn't seen before.

"Don't worry about my friend," Yamazaki said, noticing that Sakura was observing Syaoran. "That man is no match for him."

**xxx**

Sakura paced back and forth before the doctor's room, causing her auburn hair to bounce every time she turned. Her heart pounded furiously as she waited for the doctor or the nurse to deliver any result on Chiharu's condition. She was really worried.

Yamazaki had made her stay outside while he followed the doctor into the treatment room to accompany Chiharu. He had insisted that Sakura should take some rest to recover from her trauma after that assault. It took him a while to convince Sakura before she gave in. But instead of resting like Yamazaki suggested her to, she paced around before the doctor's room. A lot of things went through her mind, all at the same time. She couldn't think straight.

She wondered if Chiharu be alright, and what took the doctor forever to come out with a result.

She wondered why the police — Commander Yue sent his people to kill her.

And she wondered when her cousin, Tomoyo, will ever show up. Previously, she had wrote a letter to Tomoyo and asked a servant of the doctor to deliver it to her. She notified Tomoyo that something important came up and her presence was needed.

Sakura instantly snapped out of her trance and stood up straight when the door creaked. She watched Yamazaki walk out from the doctor's room and lurched towards him. "How is she?" she asked eagerly. "My friend, how is she?"

"She's alright. Your friend is lucky to be given early treatment before she lost a lot more blood," Yamazaki informed. "The doctor treated her wound and she's taking her rest."

Sakura sighed in relief at the news. She peeked towards the doctor's room to take a good look at what was going on in there, and saw Chiharu lying calmly on the bed. A nurse stayed beside her bed. "Can I go in and see her?"

"Of course," Yamazaki nodded slowly and guided Sakura into the treatment room. "But she fell asleep shortly after the doctor fed her medicine."

Sakura inched closer to her lady-in-waiting and a small smile formed on her mouth. She swallowed as she remembered what had caused Chiharu to be in this state — she was trying to save Sakura´s life by helping her to escape from the police. Sakura lifted her hand and caressed Chiharu slowly on her forehead. "I'm sorry," she whispered "And thank you." She watched Chiharu sleeping soundly on the bed for a short while, and turned to Yamazaki with a nod, signaling that she's done with visiting.

Yamazaki led her back into the waiting room and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'll look out for her. You should calm down and take a rest. It's been a rough night for you."

Sakura sat down on the bench and her head instantly turned to the entrance as it swung open, expecting that Tomoyo would walk in with her guards. Her eyes dropped down as it wasn't her cousin that had walked in to the clinic. It was her savior. She played with her fingers nervously and looked up to Syaoran with a small smile.

Syaoran acknowledged her with a nod. His face showed concern. "You okay?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes... But my friend is still in the treatment room. I think she will have to stay in the clinic for a while."

Syaoran glanced towards the doctor's room and turned to Sakura. "She'll be okay." He shifted his weight for a moment and decided to sit down next to Sakura, "Tell me, why were those men after you? Why were they trying to hurt you and your friend?"

"You—" Sakura bit her lip and studied his face. She had thought that the man and his friend rescued her and Chiharu because they knew that she is the monarch of the country. But now, she wasn't so sure. From the look of his face, she could see that he had no idea of her status.

"Yes?" Syaoran said as an encouragement for her to continue.

Sakura shook her head slowly, deciding that it was probably for the best that he remained clueless on her identity as the princess. "I don't know. Maybe those men were trying to steal some money from us."

"I see. You and your friend were unlucky to stumble across those thugs," Syaoran concluded. "Don't worry about them. I've asked a few locals to take those thugs to the authority. I believe that they will face the consequences soon."

Sakura nodded. She watched Syaoran stood up and headed to the doctor's room. She hesitated for a while and opened her mouth to say something. "Hey." It came out a bit louder then she intended, causing him to turn around shortly towards her.

Syaoran raised a brow. "Yes?"

"Thank you, um," she bit her lower lip in uncertainty. "I, I don't catch your name"

"It's Syaoran," he introduced.

Sakura smiled politely. "Syaoran. Thank you for saving my life and my friend's. I'm not sure what will happen to us if you and your friend didn't interfere." She lifted her gaze to meet up with Syaoran's. "Is there something I could do to repay you?"

Syaoran smiled slightly at her question. "Don't worry about it. You should take it easy. Rest up. I think your friend will wake up anytime soon. Perhaps you should contact your family or friends to come over and pick you up?"

Sakura nodded. She watched Syaoran disappeared behind the door, sunk into her seat and closed her eyes. In an instant the event of that night flashed before her eyes. She could felt herself trembling. She was scared. She wasn't sure what would happen to her and Chiharu if Syaoran and Yamazaki had not intervened. Sakura clenched her hand into a fist to control herself.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Tomoyo barged into the small clinic followed by a few of her guards. Sakura could see her cousin's worried face.

Tomoyo rushed towards Sakura and pulled her into a hug. "God! Princess Sakura, I was really worried when I received that letter from you. I rushed here as soon as I could. And I bought my guards as you instructed. Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Sakura offered her an awkward smile as tears started to form on the corner of her eyes.

"What happened?"

Sakura shook her head and wiped her tears with her thumb. "I don't know. We were attacked. Somebody wants me dead," she started to talk between her sobs. "And Chiharu. Chiharu was hurt because of me. It's my fault. None of this would happen if I was more careful. None of this would happen if I didn't follow those men."

Tomoyo's gaze softened. "It's not your fault Sakura," she soothed. Tomoyo wondered about the men Sakura mentioned, but decided to inquire about them later on. First, she needed to console the princess.

Sakura took a deep breath to calm down. "I cannot forgive him for what he did to Chiharu," she gritted her teeth and turned to Tomoyo abruptly. "I want to see him now. Will you come with me?"

Tomoyo frowned. "Of course, but where are you going? Whom are you going to see?" She watched Sakura march towards the exit and followed her. Her eyes went to her guards, signaling them to follow them. "Wait! You didn't tell me whom you're going to see."

Sakura turned shortly and nearly collided into Tomoyo. "I'm going to see Commander Yue," She hissed.

"But it's late," Tomoyo pointed out. "Maybe we should wait until daylight?"

"No, I can't." Her voice trembled. "I need to see him now. I need to know why he's after my life."

**xxx**

Commander Yue stood up abruptly when one of his men told him that the princess is here to see him. "What? The princess is here?" His eyes widened when the princess entered his office followed by her cousin, and a few ladies dressed in black. He recognized them as the Daidouji's special guard. "Your highness," he said, lowering his head for a bow. "It's really late. What brings you here?"

Sakura stood firmly before his desk and scrutinized the commander's face for a brief moment. Her hand formed into a fist, as she was trying to control herself. "Is it wrong for me to be here?"

"No, But—"

"Were you trying to plot another attempt to kill me? After your plan ruined tonight?" Sakura took a step towards him. "Tell me, commander. Why are you after my life? Why were you trying to kill me?"

Yue frowned. His expression showed confusion. "Pardon me your highness. But, I don't understand. Why are you saying that I'm after your life?"

Sakura gritted her teeth. She had told herself that she would be calm in facing the commander. That she would act rationally. But it seems that her patience had vanished when anger flowed into her. "I'm referring to those two men that you sent to kill me earlier tonight!" Sakura flinched when Tomoyo placed her hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Someone tried to kill you?" Yue dumbfounded.

Sakura chuckled at the commander's reaction. She couldn't believe that the man was trying to act like he hadn't done anything wrong, while in fact, he had. Sakura took a deep breath and swallowed. "You sent two of your men over, luring me with information on my brother's whereabouts to take me out of the palace and ordered them to kill me!"

"I assure you, your highness. I did not send any of my men to kill you," the commander replied. His voice calmed, although there was a mix of anger and worry in his eyes. "If any of my men attempt to take your life, it was not under my instruction."

"Those two men clearly stated that they you sent them over to escort me over to your bureau," Sakura said. Her voice wavered from anger. "One of them—the captain held the badge from your bureau, commander."

"A captain badge from my bureau?" Yue stroked his chin as he pondered. "But it couldn't be." he shook his head in disbelief. He took a deep breath when something registered into his mind and lifted his gaze to meet up with Sakura´s. "I think somebody tried to set me up."

Sakura jerked back. Clearly, she was surprised with his unexpected reply. "What do you mean?"

Yue pulled a document from his table and handed them to Sakura. "The captain from my bureau was found dead in his residence last night with his badge went missing."

Sakura went through the investigation report for a while and chuckled. "How can I trust that you're telling me the truth? How can I be sure that you did not counterfeit this report to cover up for yourself?"

"He's not," a voice came from the entrance.

Yue immediately lowered his into a bow at the advisor's appearance. "Advisor Yukito," he addressed.

Sakura turned around at Yukito's voice, and stood up rigidly. She watched Tomoyo and her guards made way for the advisor to pass through. "Yukito. What are you doing here? How did you—"

Yukito watched Sakura sternly. Then, he bowed to Sakura in respect for his superior. "One of your lady-in-waiting told me that you went out and I had assumed that you were heading to Lady Daidouji's," he said. "But I saw Lady Daidouji was heading out with her guards in panic. I decided to follow her and found you here."

Sakura fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "Yukito. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I acted foolishly. I was thrilled when they told me that they have information on Touya whereabouts. I just thought that maybe," Sakura bit her lower lip.

Yukito inched closer and patted her on her head—an act he rarely did in front of strangers. "Are you alright, Princess Sakura? Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine." Then her eyes drifted back towards the commander. She had an unfinished business with him. "But how did you know that the commander didn't make up the report? Do you trust him?"

"I do," Yukito admitted. "Because the king made Commander Yue have sworn to protect you if something should happen to him. He's one of Touya's most trusted people."

Sakura turned to the commander and watched him bow to her.

"Princess Sakura," Yukito said calmly when Sakura remained. "Think about it carefully. Commander Yue is very experienced in military tactical. I don't think that sending his men over to your palace—to escort you out is the tactical strategy he would apply. Your maids and guards will know that you went out to see him. Don't you think that no one will suspect him as soon as you went missing?"

Sakura drew back. She turned around to Tomoyo with a mix of confusion and suspicion on her face. Her mind started to think of the logical reason over the argument that Yukito had presented before her.

"Your highness," Commander Yue said carefully. "I don't know who it is that was trying to kill you, using me as their scapegoat. But all I know now is that whoever tried to harm you tonight was trying to destroy me as well."

* * *

**- End of Chapter 3: Scapegoat –**

* * *

**Thanks to my editor, Hanna for her well... editing.**

Hmm... I'm getting more alerts than reviews. Is it safe to say that my readers are going to review sometimes later as the story progressed? Anyway... Thank you for reading **m(_ _)m**


	4. Propositons

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_"Princess Sakura," Yukito said calmly when Sakura remained. "Think about it carefully. Commander Yue is very experienced in military tactical. I don't think that sending his men over to your palace—to escort you out is the tactical strategy he would apply. Your maids and guards will know that you went out to see him. Don't you think that no one will suspect him as soon as you went missing?"_

_Sakura drew back. She turned around to Tomoyo with a mix of confusion and suspicion on her face. Her mind started to think of the logical reason over the argument that Yukito had presented before her._

_"Your highness," Commander Yue said carefully. "I don't know who it is that was trying to kill you, using me as their scapegoat. But all I know now is that whoever tried to harm you tonight was trying to destroy me as well."_

* * *

_**Worth Fighting For**_**  
Chapter 4: Propositions**

* * *

Princess Sakura could see the displeased glances the ministers gave her. She could hear the whisperers saying how it was unbefitting for her — a princess, a woman, to sit on the throne, ruling a country.

She knew exactly what the ministers had called her behind her back and naïve was one of them.

But perhaps the ministers were right. Perhaps she was too inexperienced to rule the country. After all, Sakura had absolutely zero experience with managing the government matters. And thanks to her naïveté, she had endangered both Chiharu and herself. They nearly fell into her enemy's trap and could have ended up dead.

Advisor Yukito and Commander Yue agreed that the attack could be related to the king's disappearance. They warned Sakura to be careful of the people around her or whoever that might have something to gain from her disappearance.

Yukito wouldn't tell her much about who they suspected as her attacker, but Sakura could guess that they were suspecting Prime Minister Nakano.

"Your highness?" Minister Nakano called out.

Sakura snapped out from her trance and saw the ministers were staring at her.

Perfect. Now she had given the prime minister a chance to embarrass her in front of the others.

"You have been staring at me for a while," Nakano said. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura looked up to Prime Minister Nakano and winced inwardly at the thought that the old man could be the one who was after her life. She knew that with the other ministers' support, the prime minister would be able to step up as the acting king once she vanished.

Sakura cleared her throat and straightened her back. "No, everything is alright."

Minister Nakano turned to the other ministers before he spoke again. "Is your highness too tired to handle the country matters? Perhaps we should take a short break?"

"Maybe the princess has no interest towards the country matters," the minister of finance interjected.

Sakura gritted her teeth and cast the minister a menacing glance, causing the old man to shrink back into his seat.

The other ministers started to chatter to remove the uncomfortable atmosphere around them.

Sakura took a deep breath and shook her head. "No. I'm fine. I was just thinking about what you ministers have reported to me." She lied. "But thank you for your concern, minister." Then, she cast a glance towards the document on her table. It was a document that report how poverty had lowered in some villages. She looked up again and forced a smile. "Good work, ministers. I'm glad that the poverty rate has gone low."

The ministers began to smile, happy that the princess acknowledged their hard work.

The princess listened to more reports before she announced that the meeting to be adjourned. Sakura sunk into her throne and rubbed her temple slowly. Listening to the ministers debating on the political matters on and on gave her a slight headache. Sakura stood up from her seat and walked out of the assembly hall, followed by Yukito and a few of her maidservants.

"Thank you for your hard work today," Yukito told her.

She looked up and smiled faintly to her advisor. "I hope I wasn't doing a terrible job as a ruler."

"I think you're doing a terrific job as a beginner."

Sakura laughed a bit. "You think so?"

"I know so. Not many princesses could handle the pressure from the ministers as you could. You're a strong woman, Princess Sakura," Yukito said. He had recently tutored Sakura on governing, politics, economics and everything she needed to know to survive the ministers' demand. And ever since the assault, he had to worry about the princess's safety as well.

Sakura gave him a small smile. Then a small sigh followed. "I just hope that I would hear news on Touya's whereabouts sooner. Frankly, I don't think that I could do a good job on governing as he did."

Yukito smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure he's alive somewhere. Your brother is strong man. It will be hard for anyone to harm him. I bet he was planning something big before he made his appearance," he shrugged. "Perhaps he just wanted to make us worry."

That little comment made Sakura chuckle. She watched Yukito retreat to attend another affair and headed back to her studies with her maidservants. She stopped shortly when she noticed that the minister of commerce, Kinomoto Jinnosuke was heading towards her.

Jinnosuke bowed at her presence. "Crown Princess."

Sakura smiled politely. "How are you doing uncle?" She made an attempt to bow at him — an act for respect to the elder. Then, she remembered that Yukito had taught her in the etiquette class that she no longer had to do that as she is now a ruler of the country.

"I'm doing quite well," Jinnosuke responded. "Is there any news on the king's whereabouts?"

Sakura tried her best not to let her worry show. "Not yet. The troops are still searching for him."

"I'm sure that they will be able to find him sooner or later," Jinnosuke assured. He asked Sakura a bit on how she's coping with her new role as a ruler and gave her a bit advice on how to gain the ministers' support. "If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to see me. You know that I will always support you and your brother."

**xxx**

Sakura went through her cards and pulled out 'the twin'. Then, she put the card on top of her deck as an amulet to help her to deal with the ministers better. She put aside her cards quickly in her drawer when her lady-in-waiting announced that Advisor Yukito and Commander Yue wanted to see her. Sakura straightened up and smiled uneasily to the commander. It was awkward how a few nights ago, she was accusing the commander to be responsible in sending fake police to murder her. And now the commander is walking into her study to discuss her security.

Both Yukito and Yue bowed towards the princess. "Your highness."

Sakura nodded, signaling them to deliver the news. She listened to the commander briefing about the investigation on the fake police and sighed when they haven't got much clues. The fake police confessed that a masked man paid them to do the deeds. He even gave them the captain badge from Yue's bureau to help them sneak into the palace.

Yue turned to Yukito after his reports and watched him nodded in approval. He stepped forward and said, "Your highness, we have a proposition for you."

Sakura leaned forward. "A proposition? What is it about?"

Commander Yue took a deep breath. "We thought that it would be for the best if we recruit a few men and trained them as your royal guard to protect you inside and outside of palace."

"Royal guards?" Sakura frowned after a while. "You mean like Tou— the king's royal guards?"

"Yes," Yukito said. "You're now ruling the country in the king's stead. Thus, your safety is as important as the king's. And it's only natural that we should recruit a few men as your royal guards."

"Why can't we just select a few of the palace guards and assigned them as my royal guards instead?" Sakura asked. "I think that would save a lot more money than recruiting new men."

Yukito smiled at the princess's opinion. He knew exactly what was on the princess mind. The princess would rather cut costs and save the government money, and use them to help her people.

"Of course, the palace guards are eligible to apply as the royal guard if they're interested," the commander spoke. "But royal guards and palace guards are different. They have higher skills in martial arts as compared to the palace guards. And the selection is much stricter. The royal guards would usually be given a much different training than palace guards. They will have to train for a few weeks in the boot camp before the selection process begin."

Sakura chewed her lip, trying to absorb what the commander had told her. "Alright..."

"And usually, the king or the crown prince would have to train along with their royal guards to build a stronger bond between them," Yue continued.

Yukito noticed that small wrinkles forming on the princess's forehead. "You remember that Touya had undergone the same training with his royal guards, do you?"

Sakura frowned. She nodded as she remembered watching his brother trained along with his guards in his quarters. "I remember." Sakura tightened her lips as she looked at Yukito. "Does that mean that I have to train with my guards too?"

Yukito shook his head and chuckled softly. "No, princess. You don't have to take part in the training. I have discussed on this matter with the commander and we have agreed that the commander himself will train your guards for you as he was much more familiar with it."

Sakura had a confuse look on her face. "What about bonding with my guards then?"

The two men exchanged their look again before Yue spoke. "For the time being, we thought that it is best that we select men that are capable to protect you from danger. After all, we didn't have much time to train them. But, perhaps you could slowly build your bond with your guards as times goes by."

Yukito stiffened his smile at how Yue had arranged his words carefully. "Furthermore your highness. I don't think that the king would be pleased to know that we let you spend your time with a bunch of men without his approval."

Sakura stared at Yukito blankly. Then, her lips slowly curved into a smile as something registered into her mind — how her brother never let any boy come closer to her. Touya was really protective towards her. Especially when there was males involved.

"You know that he would kill me if I ever let that happen in his absence," Yukito said. "So, bonding with your guards is totally out of question."

Sakura laughed softly. "What about female bodyguard? Like Tomoyo's bodyguard."

"If the candidates are perfect for the job, I don't see why not?" Yue replied with a shrug.

**xxx**

Yamazaki searched for a girl with brown hair, braided into two pigtails in the market. He sighed in frustration when he couldn't find one the girl he was looking for. _'Perhaps she styled her hair differently this time?'_ He whispered. Then, he shook his head, knowing that it was impossible for him to find the girl now. With her injuries, she should be resting in bed.

He was wandering the town in hoping that he would see Chiharu or her friend again. He wanted to know how she was doing. He was worried. After all, Sakura had suddenly disappeared that night. Then, two strange women in black were seen loitering around as if they were guarding the clinic. Soon, a young, bespectacled girl called Naoko stepped forward claiming as Chiharu's sister. She took Chiharu back home and promised to look after her. But Yamazaki couldn't help but to think that there was something suspicious about it.

"What are you doing out here?"

Yamazaki turned around and met Syaoran. "I was looking for you."

Syaoran raised a brow that said 'Oh, really?'

Yamazaki crossed his arms on his chest and feigned anger. "Where have you been? You've disappeared after breakfast without informing me where you went to."

Syaoran ignored his question, went across the street and headed to a small stall. He ordered a drink and some snacks when the waitress approached then turned to his comrade. "Sit down."

Yamazaki did as he was told with his arms still crossed over his chest.

Syaoran smiled to the waitress and poured them both a cup of tea. He drank his tea and turned to Yamazaki with excitement on his face. "I went out to investigate."

Yamazaki dropped his hands to his sides. "Investigate what?"

"You didn't forget the reason why we made this trip to Clow Country, do you?"

"To learn about the martial art technique that the king have invented," Yamazaki answered. "But Li... Don't you remember that the king went missing? How are you supposed to learn about the martial art when the master himself is not present?"

Syaoran flashed a smirk and pulled out a paper from his pocket.

"What is this?"

"This," Syaoran made a dramatic pause as he unfolded the paper. "This is our ticket into the palace. Our ticket to learn the new martial art."

Yamazaki raised a brow. He took the paper from Syaoran and studied every word on it. "They are having a selection for the crown princess's royal bodyguard. What does that got to do with learning the martial art?"

"I asked some locals around. They told me that only the royal guards are trained with this special art," Syaoran said casually. "Naturally, we'll get to learn about this martial art if we applied as the crown princess's royal guard."

"Are you insane?" Yamazaki laughed nervously. He folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket. "There is no way that we're going to apply as the crown princess's guard. Li, you cannot do this. You cannot apply as the royal guard. It's dangerous." he said with disbelief. "I thought you were going to see the king and talk to him into teaching you the art."

"The king went missing," Syaoran pointed out quietly.

"And you think that this is the best way to learn the martial art? By sneaking into the palace and trained as the royal guard?"

Syaoran stared at his comrade for a while and nodded. "Yes. Do you think that they would teach me the martial art if I come to the palace and asked them to let me watch or learn? What kind of king would reveal their country defense, tactical strategy to a stranger — a prince of another country? No way, of course not. Even though the country is now ruled by the crown princess, I doubt that she would be that shallow."

Yamazaki went quiet for a while as he was trying to process what the prince had told him.

"Fine," Syaoran heaved a sigh, poured another cup of tea and swallowed it down. "I will still apply as a royal guard with or without you."

Yamazaki squinted. Not that it gives off any effect as he had small, squinty eyes. "You planned this from the start," he accused. "You knew from the very beginning that you have to sneak into the palace to get a glimpse of the martial art."

Syaoran replied him with a shrug.

"I should have known that something like this would happen," Yamazaki sunk into his chair and buried his face into his palm. Then, he looked up. "Your parents are going to furious. They will murder me if I ever agree to your plan."

"Relax. I don't think they would be worry at all. I've wrote them a letter before we departed from Feimei's place. I've told them that I'm going away to travel for two years."

Yamazaki looked at Syaoran in astonishment.

"I thought that it would require us at least two years to make them trust us with their secrets." Syaoran leaned forward with a smirk. "But here's the thing. I don't think that we have to stay in the palace that long."

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard that they're in need for royal guards for the crown princess ASAP. Which means... they will need to hasten the training process. I've heard that the book camp will be held for a week before the selection process. Then, the real training will begin. I give it three months. No, six months top before they begin to trust us with their secret."

Yamazaki laughed nervously and repeated, "You're insane."

"Oh, come on, Yamazaki. It'll be our little adventure. I promise it will be fun. What do you say?" Syaoran coaxed. "One year. Then we'll go back to Li Dynasty for good."

Yamazaki looked doubtful. He weighted his decision for a while and finally nodded, causing Syaoran to shout out in joy. "Don't get too excited." He frowned.

"Sorry," Syaoran smiled. He chewed on his snack and turned to Yamazaki again. A mischievous grin plastered on his face.

"What?"

"Well... we may have one tiny problem before we do this."

Yamazaki swallowed. He didn't like the tone that Syaoran was using right now. It sounded a lot like trouble.

* * *

**-End of Chapter 4: Propositions-**

* * *

**Credit goes to Hanna for proofreading**

I'd like to thank everyone who read my story. If you have been following my other story, you would notice that I'd like to take it slow with the characters development. Hopefully, we'll be able to see something soon **:)**

Also... what do you think of the fiction cover? I asked my little sister to draw that for me. I wanted a picture with Syaoran holding his sword! Anyway, you can visit my sister's profile in k1rar1n devianart.

Thank you for reading! And don't forget to review~


	5. Fabricated Report

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

"_Oh, come on, Yamazaki. It'll be our little adventure. I promise it will be fun. What do you say?" Syaoran coaxed. "One year. Then we'll go back to Li Dynasty for good."_

_Yamazaki looked doubtful. He weighted his decision for a while and finally nodded, causing Syaoran to shout out in joy. "Don't get too excited." He frowned. _

"_Sorry," Syaoran smiled. He chewed on his snack and turned to Yamazaki again. A mischievous grin plastered on his face._

"_What?"_

"_Well... we may have one tiny problem before we do this."_

_Yamazaki swallowed. He didn't like the tone that Syaoran was using right now. It sounded a lot like trouble._

* * *

**Worth Fighting For**

**Chapter 5: Fabricated Report**

* * *

Yamazaki fumed. He was never fond of Syaoran's idea of having him addressing the prince as 'Syaoran' instead of 'Li'. It was awkward enough when Syaoran suggested addressing him as 'Li' instead of the usual 'Your Highness' or 'Prince Li'. Letting him, a mere bodyguard, his subject to call Syaoran by his first name sounded like a bizarre idea.

"Yamazaki," Syaoran said in his warning tone.

"I cannot do this," Yamazaki wailed for the umpteenth time. "This is crazy. I cannot address you by your first name. It was disrespectful enough to address you by your family name." He shook his head frantically and said, "No. I can't do this. I won't."

"I don't understand why you are so worked up over this matter. I gave you the permission to address me by my name," Syaoran reasoned.

"What if other people hear me? I could be beheaded for my impertinence, you know."

Syaoran let out a heavy sigh. "No one else would hear you, Yamazaki. This is Clow Country. We're not in Li Dynasty. No one would care if you address me by my given name. They don´t know my identity."

"L—"

Syaoran rushed towards Yamazaki and pressed his hand on Yamazaki's mouth before he could finish. He turned to a few passing soldiers before him and let out a nervous laugh. "Do you want to put us both in danger?" he whispered to Yamazaki.

Once the soldiers had passed, Yamazaki removed Syaoran's hand from his mouth and breathed.

"Do you know how hard it was to pass the audition for the princess's royal guard?"

"It was never hard for you," Yamazaki muttered under his breath.

"After all our efforts we made to get through the preliminary audition and to the royal guards boot camp? Do you want all our hard work to go to waste? We are this close," Syaoran raised his hand, with his thumb and forefinger an inch apart to emphasize his point. "This close to learn their secret martial art. Are you sure you want to ruin our chance?"

"Surely there must be another way."

"Yamazaki, you must understand that it is dangerous for anyone to hear you addressing me as Li," Syaoran convinced. "You have served the country for years. You knew that only the royalty of Li Dynasty use Li as their surname. Anyone would recognize right away that I'm Prince Li Syaoran from Li Dynasty if they ever heard you."

"I do know that."

"But?"

"I cannot do it."

Syaoran sighed. He placed his thumbs on his temple and massaged them slowly. His eyes darted towards his shoes as he pressed his lips into a thin line. Clearly, he was starting to get irritated by Yamazaki's opposition. "Fine," Syaoran said with exasperation in his voice. "I'll make this easier for you."

Yamazaki narrowed his eyes in alarm. "What are you trying to do?"

"Yamazaki," Syaoran paused. "You will address me as Syaoran as long as we're in Clow Country unless if I declared otherwise."

"Prince Li," his voice were almost pleading.

Syaoran raised a hand to stop Yamazaki from saying anything further. "It's Syaoran. And this isn't a request. It is a decree. And therefore, you cannot object my order."

**xxx**

Chiharu turned around when she noticed that someone was at her door. She tidied her hair and tried to get up from her bed. "Your highness," her voice alarmed. She was surprised to see the princess in her room, standing beside the door. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura rushed beside her lady-in-waiting and placed her hand on Chiharu's shoulder to restrain her from getting up. "You should take it easy. You're injured, remember?"

Chiharu reluctantly obeyed the princess and shuffled a little bit into a seating position with a nurse adjusting her pillow behind her. She turned to the princess and noticed that there was another woman with her. "Naoko?"

Naoko pushed her glasses on the bridge of her nose. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Chiharu answered.

"I'm glad," Naoko spoke. She casted a quick glance towards the princess and smiled. "The princess was concerned of your well being. She insisted to come over here and visit you."

Chiharu smiled. She was happy that the princess had come over to visit despite her status. "You didn't have to, princess. You have been kind enough to send the doctor and nurses from the royal hospital to treat me. They have done a great job bringing me back to health."

"I couldn't rest assured without seeing you for myself," Sakura reasoned. Then, a guilty smile grazed her lips. "Besides, it was my fault that you got hurt."

"Please don't blame yourself, Princess Sakura" Chiharu said quickly. "It was not your fault." she looked at Sakura and Naoko alternately with a frown and settled to the princess. Her gaze filled with question. "Your highness. Why are you wearing a maidservant uniform?"

Sakura giggled at her question. "I'm avoiding the minister from monitoring my movement for a while. So I came here incognito."

Chiharu blinked. Her expression turned worry. "What? But princess, that is dangerous."

"Don't worry," Sakura reassured as she sat down beside Chiharu. "Yukito knows I'm here to visit you. Commander Yue has sent a couple of his best soldier to come along with us."

"I've heard from Commander Yue's men about what happened that night," Chiharu said. "We were lucky that someone was there to help us."

Sakura nodded. She had a bit chat with her Chiharu on what happened that night, and what is happening in the palace before a royal pharmacist walked in with some medicine. The princess had asked for the royal pharmacist to prepare the best medicine for her lady-in-waiting. Sakura waited for the pharmacist to do her job for a while and turned to Naoko.

Naoko bowed. "Are you going to head back to the palace, your highness?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded. "But we're going to make a quick stop in town. There's a place I need to visit."

**xxx**

Princess Sakura was mortified when she walked pass some of the villages in town. This is definitely not what she had expected to see during her secret visit—the sight of her people in poverty. The people were wearing shabby clothes. Their skeletal body showed that they haven't had decent meal in days, weeks or perhaps months. They were undernourished. It was exactly the opposite as what the ministers had reported to her last week.

The ministers had informed her that the poverty rate had lowered in some villages. Sakura was sure that this village—Kagami village was on top of the list given by the ministers. And the minister of welfare had convinced her that the people were given enough food and medicine.

Sakura saw two siblings before her fighting over a bowl of gruel. In an instant, her heart sank. "Was it always like that in this village?"

Naoko paused, hesitating. Then, slowly, she nodded. "Yes."

Sakura turned to Naoko with confusion all over her face. "Why? I was sure the ministers told me my people are living well. I had never received any reports of my people is suffering like this."

"Your highness," Naoko spoke. Her voice softened as if she was trying to soothe the young princess.

"They haven't received the aid I sent to them through the minister of welfare, have they?" Sakura said, more to herself. "The ministers claimed a big sum of money from the government. They told me it was for helping my people. But it was all a lie, wasn't it?"

Naoko stood still. She wasn't sure how she should respond to it. It didn't look like the princess was waiting for her respond anyway. Naoko watched Sakura observing the village for a few more minutes and accompanied her back to the palace. The way back was quiet as the princess was seen deep in her thought. As a maidservant who had been serving the princess for years, Naoko knew that she should not interrupt the princess with the government matters.

Sakura stopped shortly and breathed as they were a meter away from entering her quarters. "Naoko?"

Naoko bowed. "Yes, your highness?"

"Send the guards away, would you? Then, you can retreat back to your quarters."

Naoko looked up. She was surprised by the princess's order. "But your highness. I don't think that's a good idea. What if—"

"I'll be fine. The palace guard will watch over me if anything should happen," Sakura assured. "I promise I will stay in the palace ground. I just need an hour to think for myself. I need some privacy. Just give me an hour, that's all I'm asking for."

Naoko watched Sakura for a while and finally nodded. She turned to dismiss the guards who had been following them around from Chiharu's place and curtsied before she retreated.

Sakura tightened her lips into a thin line as soon as the guard and her maidservant dispersed. She stood before her quarters for a full two minutes and turned around. Her feet led the way as her mind was preoccupied with something else.

A glimpse of her people back in the Kagami village went through her mind. How skinny they were. How siblings fought with each other for food. How one of the babies was crying because she was hungry and the mother could not find anything to feed her.

Sakura was ashamed of herself. She was frustrated and heartbroken at the scene that had happened before her eyes. She felt betrayed and angry at the ministers for fabricating the reports they've presented to her. She was angry at herself, knowing that she wasn't doing her job as a ruler well. She was sure that her people must have been disappointed in her. Her incompetence had caused her people to suffer.

Sakura looked up and snapped out of her thought as she realized where her feet had taken her. She was now standing before Touya's training ground. She remembered how she would always come here to look for Touya whenever she faced any difficulties. Although there are times where Touya would love to tease to treat her with cold, Touya would always show his warm side when she needed him to. It was one of Touya's ways to look after her.

"What are you doing here?"

Sakura flinched at the voice behind her.

"You're not supposed to be here," the voice said again. "This is the king's training ground. Only those who had passed the try-out for the crown princess's royal guards are allowed to be here."

The princess feigned a smile and bowed slightly. She wasn't in the mood to explain who she really is. "I'm sor—"

"It's you!"

"What?" Sakura looked up towards the person to get a better look. Then, she let out a gasp as she recognized the man before her. "What are you doing here?"

Syaoran had a puzzled expression on his face . "I passed the preliminary audition for the crown princess royal guard. I'm here to join the boot camp."

Sakura gave him a look over and noticed that he was wearing the soldier's uniform. Then she remembered the proposition that Advisor Yukito and Commander Yue had proposed to her last week. It was something about employing her royal guards. "I didn't know that you're applying for the royal guard position," Sakura said absentmindedly.

"Me and my friend, Yamazaki both passed the preliminary audition," Syaoran told her. He studied Sakura for a while. He couldn't believe that they will meet again in the castle.

"Oh," Sakura muttered.

Syaoran gave her a look over and frowned. "I didn't know that you were working in the palace. You're a maidservant?"

Sakura studied herself and realized that she was still in the maidservant uniform. Panic rushed into her. She wasn't sure how to explain herself to him. After all, she hasn't told him her identity as the princess when he and his friend rescued her. Sakura wondered if she should tell him the truth about herself.

Syaoran leaned forward, and raised a brow.

"I am working in the palace." Sakura said quickly. It was no lie. She is working in the palace. Although, her role in the palace might be different than what Syaoran had guessed. She's a princess. Not a maidservant as he think she is. Sakura wondered if he would trust her if she told him her identity as a princess.

"I'm guessing that your injured friend is working in the palace too?" Syaoran said. He shifted his weight from leg to leg and put on a concerned expression. "How is she? I hope she's doing well after what happened that night."

Sakura's dilemma whether to tell him the truth on her identity vanished. Chiharu´s wellbeing instantly came into her mind. "She's alright," Sakura told him. "The doctor said she's getting better."

Syaoran nodded in approval to her news.

"I must thank you again for you and your friend's kindness," Sakura said. "If there's anything, anyway that I can repay your kindness..."

Syaoran smiled. "There's no need to repay me for anything. One does not conduct kindness and expecting to have something else in exchange."

Sakura bit her lips. She was embarrassed for thinking that he needed something from her. Years of living in the palace had taught her that people doesn't simply do things for her without hoping for something else. "But I'm sorry if I have offended you. I didn't mean it like that."

Syaoran laughed at her remark. "Don't worry about it."

Sakura frowned. She was surprised when he laughed. Very few people would act so carefree around her like he did. For a second, Sakura wondered if he would act differently if he only knew that she was the princess.

"But what are you doing here in the training ground? Are you lost?"

Sakura shook her head. She immediately remembered why she was there. She needed to calm herself after what she had saw in the villages and absentmindedly, she had walked over to Touya's quarters. "No. I'm not lost. I was actually," she paused to bit her lips. Sakura wasn't sure how to explain herself without telling him the truth.

"You were here to see someone?"

Sakura shook her head again. "No. That's not it. I—"

Syaoran raised his brow in curiosity.

It was that moment that Sakura noticed the presence of her advisor and commander marching towards their direction. Then, her eyes met with Yukito. She knew right away that Yukito recognized her, despite her outfit. Sakura frowned and squinted at him, signaling for him not to say or do anything. Or at least she hoped that the advisor would get her message.

Syaoran frowned. He turned to the direction that Sakura was looking at and saw what has been alarming her. Syaoran turned to Sakura and smiled. "I have to go now."

Sakura blinked. "Yes."

"Don't worry. I'll explain to the commander why you were here," Syaoran suggested.

"No. Don't do that. I was here to see them," Sakura said abruptly. Then, she noticed that Syaoran was looking at her with his curious expression. She had to think of something. Fast. "The crown princess sent me here to deliver him a message," Sakura said.

"Ah," Syaoran nodded. But there were a hint of surprised on his face. "Well then. I'll have to go." He turned around towards the training ground and stop shortly. Then, Syaoran spun to face Sakura. "We will meet again." He smiled.

Sakura watched Syaoran bowed to greet the commander and the advisor and let out a sigh of relief. For some unknown reason, she was relieved that Syaoran won't be able to find out about her identity as the princess today. Sakura decided that it was not time for him to know yet.

"Your highness," Yukito and Yue said in unison as they approached her.

Yukito studied the princess´ expression and turned towards the way Syaoran disappeared to. "You know of that soldier?"

"Yes," Sakura breathed. "He and his friend was the one who rescued me and Chiharu during the attack that night."

* * *

**- End of Chapter 5: Fabricated Report –**

* * *

**Credit goes to Hanna for proofreading!**


	6. The Princess's Resolution

**Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_Sakura turned to Naoko with confusion all over her face. "Why? I was sure the ministers told me my people are living well. I had never received any reports of my people is suffering like this."_

_"Your highness," Naoko spoke. Her voice softened as if she was trying to soothe the young princess._

_"They haven't received the aid I sent to them through the minister of welfare, have they?" Sakura said, more to herself. "The ministers claimed a big sum of money from the government. They told me it was for helping my people. But it was all a lie, wasn't it?"_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For**

**Chapter 6: The Princess's Resolution**

* * *

The young princess was furious!

She couldn't believe that the advisor knew the condition of her people in Kagami Village and kept it as a secret from her. When she had consulted him upon this matter, he had told her to turn a blind eye against the ministers' misconduct.

_What?_

She was even more upset when Yukito suggest her not to take any action. He told her that they have no evidence to convict the ministers with corruption. Strong evidence like documents, witness, or whatever that is. He advised that it would be dangerous to make a blind accusation without any evidence.

But this isn't a blind accusation. What other proof would the young adviser need? Her people are suffering! She saw it with her very own eyes! Isn't that a strong proof of the ministers' lies and misconduct?

The advisor's reply was that there are some things in life that she has to overlook to protect the others. In this case, Yukito told her clearly that it was all to protect her.

_That is absurd!_

Yukito was afraid that the ministers would continue to go against her act to step up as the king's substitute. It was hard enough for the princess to hold a meeting without the ministers pointing out how limited her knowledge and experience in governing.

But still, the whole things sounded very ludicrous to her.

She didn't care about the ministers' opinion towards her. What matters more right now were her people. How could she be a good ruler while having to watch her people suffers? She had the highest rank in the country! The king's substitute! Does her rank means nothing at all?

The advisor told her that even though she had the highest rank in the country, she had no real authorities to fight against the ministers. Yukito have heard of this bet the ministers made on how long Sakura would last on the throne for her brother's stead. Right now, the ministers took her as a joke due to her inexperience and her gender as woman. The one with powers over the nation were the ministers. Sakura was nothing more than a puppet for the ministers so that the people would continue to have confidence in the government.

The princess was so angry upon hearing that.

_She was not a puppet for the ministers. She refused to be one!_

But of course Yukito was right. It was hard for her to make her own decision freely without the ministers trying to oppose her. In the end, she would cower and follow as according to the ministers wishes. But what can she do? Yukito know very well how she was troubled by her lack of confidence to rule. That she was too afraid to oppose the ministers. She wasn't ready for the ministers yet.

Yukito advised her to be extra careful with her action. If they weren't careful enough, she might face an attempt to assassinate her like Touya did in the past. They still have no knowledge of what they are facing right now. And right now, her safety was their top priority. It was bad enough that Touya went missing. They need to protect the throne until Touya returns. They need to do that or it will cause panic among the citizen.

At this very moment, Sakura hated herself for being so powerless to protect her people. She was so angry. Words cannot describe how frustrated she felt to watch such injustice with her own eyes and yet, she cannot do anything to make it right.

"Your highness?"

Sakura turned around, with a menacing glare. "What?" She snapped angrily, causing her cousin, Tomoyo to stun.

"No—nothing. I was—you were," Tomoyo stuttered.

"Oh god," Sakura said with a gasp. Her hand clasped on her mouth as she just realized what she just did. "No. Tomoyo, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just," she paused, and shook her head as if that would clear any thought off her head. Then, she slump down to the floor with her hand both on cupping her face.

Tomoyo bent down cautiously and sat next to Sakura. "Sakura? What's wrong?"

Sakura continued to shake her head as tears streamed down her cheek. There are various things going through her head right now. She wasn't sure how to voice out her concern to her cousin. "I'm sorry," Sakura repeated. "I don't know what I should do, Tomoyo,"Sakura said between her sobs. "I held the highest position in the country, and yet, there is nothing I can do to help my people."

Tomoyo's gaze on the princess softened. Without any words, she pulled Sakura into a hug and patted her slowly on her back to console her, whispering that everything will be alright.

Soon, Sakura started to share her worries with Tomoyo. She told her everything—what she saw in the village, and how Yukito had advised her not to take any action towards the minister.

**xxx**

It has been a full five minutes since the princess quiet down. Her tears have dried up and she was staring down on the floor. Tomoyo smiled gently as she patted Sakura softly on her shoulder. "Are you alright now?" she asked when Sakura looked at her.

Sakura nodded. "Yes."

There was a long silence between them as Sakura continue to stare down on the floor and Tomoyo continued to watch over the princess.

"What are you going to do now?" Tomoyo asked, breaking up the silence between them.

The princess shook her head. "I don't know. But I cannot bear to watch my people suffer like they did now. They need my help. They need the aid or they'll die." Sakura closed her eyes, and pursed her lips hard into a line. "Tomoyo," she said with resolve in her voice. "I need to do something for them. And I'm going to need your help."

Tomoyo nodded. "Okay." Tomoyo knew the princess too well. She knew that Sakura will try to do something to help her people and she was well prepared for whatever her cousin might be planning. "What do you have in mind?"

"There might be nothing that I can do to punish the ministers right now but I think, there are still a few things that I can do for my people," Sakura said with a pale smile on her lips. "For now, you're going to help me sneak out of the palace."

**xxx**

Syaoran stared at the letter in his hand and re-read the contents for the third time. His forehead wrinkled at the contents. Then, he bit his lower lips as if he was pondering over something serious.

His sister, Princess Fanren had sent him a letter inquiring his wellbeing. As the eldest sister, she advised him to come home once in a while and visit their mother. It has been quite sometimes since he left the palace. How long has it been since he stepped down from the throne and left the palace for his little adventure? A year perhaps? And how long as it been since he last contacted his own mother, the queen?

Syaoran folded the letter neatly and hide them into his pocket as Yamazaki headed towards him. He looked up and a small smile grazed his lips.

"Another letter from Princess Fanren?" Yamazaki guessed.

Syaoran nodded faintly.

"What did she says?"

"The same thing," Syaoran sighed. "That I should consider visiting my parents once in a while."

"That's a very good advice."

Syaoran throw him a dangerous look.

Yamazaki shifted his weight and smiled. "But, I'm not here to give you any lecture on how you should once in a while head back to visit your parents. I've done that many times, and you wouldn't listen to me anyway."

Syaoran frowned in dissatisfaction. His mouth opened to protest and decided against it. "Why are you here? I thought you're going to practice a little bit more with the other candidates?"

"I have news for you," Yamazaki spoke. His expression turned serious. "The men told me that the selection process for the crown princess' royal guard are going to be postponed. They're going to post the official notice anytime soon."

"Why?"

Yamazaki exhaled. "I'm not sure. I heard something about the princess isn't in the mood for the selection yet."

Syaoran grimaced at the news. "Not in the mood?"

"Are you sure you want to go along with your plan?" Yamazaki asked. "It seems that we're going to deal with a very difficult princess once we pass the royal guards selection, Li."

"It's Syaoran." Syaoran corrected with a sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my given name?"

"I don't think it's too late to back off now before we make it as the royal guards," Yamazaki continued, clearly ignoring the prince's little comment. "We could travel somewhere else. I'm sure that there are a lot other martial arts around the world that you could learn."

"We made it this far to learn the secret. I'm not going to give up now."

"You mean you wouldn't mind serving this princess? She could be a real nightmare. You know how it is with royalties. Most of them are made of stuck up, arrogant princes and princess," Yamazaki paused and mentally cursed at himself realizing what he had said.

Syaoran have to cackle at Yamazaki's discomfort. Then he raised a brow. "Do you think of me as stuck up and arrogant then?"

Yamazaki shook his head quickly. "No." He cleared his throat and continued. "Y-your family is different. Your family has been really kind to their subject." He swallowed and lowered his head to bow. Another curse escaped him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. This humble servant deserves to be punished."

Syaoran's expression alarmed. His eyes scanned the surrounding nervously as he pulled Yamazaki from lowering his head. "Stop that. Get up now, Yamazaki. We didn't want anyone to see anything."

"Right," Yamazaki replied. He too scanned around to look for anyone who might notice them. Thankfully, there is no one passing by to notice them. "I'm sorry. I should be more careful."

Syaoran blew a sigh of relief. "Please. Or else, we will both get into trouble." He watched Yamazaki nodded in comprehension and turned around. "I should get going now."

Yamazaki frowned when the prince was about to head to the opposite direction of the training camp. His mouth then formed into an 'O', and a loud gasp escaped him at the sight of the prince climbing the palace wall without any difficulties. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't this is obvious?" The prince flashed a cheeky smile from the top of the palace wall. "I'm sneaking out."

"What? Again? Are you insane?" Yamazaki scanned around to ensure that no one was watching them. "You can't do that. It's dangerous! We're supposed to be training in the camp. What will happen if any of the soldiers caught you? You can forget your dreams to learn whatever secret from their martial arts then."

"I won't get caught. You know that."

"Don't be too sure about that!" Yamazaki clenched his teeth in frustration. "Prin—"

"You just told me that the selection will be delayed. Training can wait." Syaoran cut off before Yamazaki get the chance to say anything else. "Besides, I need to send a reply letter to my family and let them know that I'm alive and breathing," he reasoned.

"What about me?"

"You should go back to the training camp before anyone else notices anything. And cover me if anything happens. You're really good at convincing people with your lies, aren't you?" Syaoran said, winking, causing Yamazaki to open his mouth wide open. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back as soon as I can."

**xxx**

Lady Tomoyo was entertaining a few of the villager's children when she noticed a guard on duty patrolled the village. She turned to the princess and watched her stiffened when a guard walked passed her. Sakura turned around to hide her face, worried that the guard would recognize her on the street. She put a hand on her chest and exhaled in relief when the guard paid no attention to her.

"Relax," Tomoyo said. She patted Sakura on her shoulder and smiled. "I don't think the guard or anyone could recognize you in this guise."

"I know. But I just want to be careful." The princess smiled faintly and glanced at her outfit. She was dressed casually like the other locals. "Yukito might be angry if he found out that I sneak out of the palace again. He might scatter every guard in the castle to search me."

Tomoyo laughed a little. "I don't think that he would do that," she said when the princess gave her an inquiring look. "Advisor Tsukishiro is a very careful man. He wouldn't do anything that would give the ministers any chance to condemn you. Instead, he'll be very discreet. Don't worry too much. Naoko would know what to do if the advisor went to look for you."

"You're right." Sakura said with a sigh.

The princess was worried. She had instructed Naoko and the other maidservant to refuse _any_ visitor to her quarters while she was away. But she knew for sure that the advisor wouldn't be visiting her quarters today knowing that she would refuse to see him for a while after their argument.

Sakura had decided earlier to visit the village herself to send aid for her people. She took some of her personal possession and money and exchanged them for some food and medicine. She sneaked out from the palace with the help of Naoko, Lady Tomoyo and a few of her loyal attendants. She figured that it would be better to send aid to the villagers directly. It was the least she could do help the villagers.

Tomoyo watched her cousin scooping the porridge for the villagers and smiled. Sakura seem to enjoy serving the food to the villagers very much. The happiness and satisfaction on her face was transparent. The smile on the villagers' face has brought her joy and happiness. Tomoyo was glad that the princess's smile had finally returned.

"Are you tired, your highness?" Tomoyo voiced her concern after a while. "Maybe you should take a break and let my guards and attendants handle this task for you?"

"I'm alright," Sakura said, smiling to the villagers as they thanked her for the food. "I want to do this for the villagers until the very end. This is the least that I can do for them."

When the princess was done with distributing food for the villagers, Tomoyo turned to her attendants and told them to clear up. She turned to her guards and signalled them to get ready to escort the princess back to the palace. She poured a cup of water and served it to the princess.

"Thank you," Sakura said, after a gulp of the refreshing water. "I need to thank you for helping me with the villagers. For helping me to sneak out" Sakura chuckled softly. "I didn't think that I would be able to do anything if you decide to oppose against my plan."

"You know that I would do anything for you," Tomoyo said. She watched the princess tilted her head up to look at the villagers' kids playing around and smiled. "Would you like to share what's on your mind?"

Sakura was quiet for a while. She took a long, deep breath before she turned to look at Tomoyo. "I—I decided to get stronger," she paused and turned to look away. "I want to become stronger to protect the people in Touya's stead even if it means that I have to stand up against the ministers."

Tomoyo's expression softened at the princess's speech. Her gaze on the princess's face lingered for a full five seconds. "It wouldn't be easy," she pointed out.

"I know that," Sakura nodded. Her expression changed at the thought of what she need to do and what she will face later on. "But I cannot bear to watch my people continue to suffer because of my weaknesses," she sighed. "I'm going to study harder when I get back to the palace. I want to gain more knowledge and power to rule the country properly. That way the ministers would think twice before they intimidate me with their so called power."

Tomoyo smiled. "I have absolute confidence that you can do anything, your highness. And I vow to do anything—to lend you my power whenever you need it. I know that mother would do the very same for you."

"Thank you. You've been a very good friend to me, my cousin." Sakura turned to look at the villagers again and smiled. "I'm going to do my best for my people until my brother returns," she determined. "I want to be able to watch my people with their smile on their face. Because their happiness is my happiness."

* * *

**- End of Chapter ****6: The Princess's Resolution**** –**

* * *

I was planning for a longer chapter but decided against it before it becomes a really long chapter. Anyway, I really hope that you're enjoying this one. Also... Hanna quit as my proofreader to focus on her study (I would like to thank Hanna for her constant advice on previous chapters). So... expect to see more grammar mistakes from this chapter and further on. Please don't forget to send me your love or reviews.


	7. Sneaking Royalties

**Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_Yamazaki frowned when the prince was about to head to the opposite direction of the training camp. His mouth then formed into an 'O', and a loud gasp escaped him at the sight of the prince climbing the palace wall without any difficulties. "What are you doing?"_

_"Isn't this is obvious?" The prince flashed a cheeky smile from the top of the palace wall. "I'm sneaking out."_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For**

**Chapter 7: Sneaking Royalties**

* * *

Syaoran stopped a few meters away from the eastern gate and studied his surrounding to ensure that no guards were on patrolling duty in the area. It has always been his favorite spot to sneak in into the palace. The security around the eastern gate was loose as compared to the other gates as a royal horse stable was located just on the other side of the wall. Perhaps the palace security thought that no one would risk climbing on the palace's wall to end up landing on horse droppings.

He traced the wall with his fingers, sensing any movement from the other side. His mouth twitched into a satisfactory smile when he sensed not much activity. Perhaps there were a few horses having their meals. But that was all. Syaoran took a few steps back and jump over the fence skillfully like he always did. His movement was like a feline. Very fast. Very impossible for anyone who never practiced martial arts to attempt it.

"What are you doing!?"

Syaoran turned around to the voice just as he landed his feet on the ground.

_A palace guard._

"Oh crap!" he cursed as soon as his eyes met with a guard just a few feet away. He turned around and ran away. It would be very troublesome if the palace guard caught him. Yamazaki would probably taunt him with 'I've warned you!' if the commander found out that he sneaked out. It would probably ruin his chance to pass as the crown princess's royal guard.

Syaoran turned around at one sharp corner and decided to stay hidden behind the wall. He straightened his posture and held his breath as the guard passed by. Seconds later, he blew a sigh of relief when the guard failed to notice him.

He sneaked around and turned at another corner. He needed to get out of there fast before the guard notifies the others. It will become difficult to get away when a few more guards show up. Syaoran straightened up and brushed up his sleeve when he was sure that the guard wouldn't be able to find him. Syaoran searched around for his way back to the training ground when he saw a familiar figure not far away from him. The girl's face might be hidden, but he recognized her auburn locks and her short haircut anyway.

Syaoran took a step forward to greet her and stop abruptly when he noticed another three ladies were with her. Two of them dressed in dark hue and the other one were dressed casually in blue. Syaoran knew just by looking at her that the woman in dark hue outfit was exceptionally good in martial arts. He wondered what that was all about. Was Sakura in trouble again like the first time he met her?

But he didn't sense anything dangerous from the other women. And from their expression, he could figure out that the girls were her acquaintance. Syaoran stood still, waiting for the party to disband before he greets the crown princess's attendant. Syaoran frowned when he saw that the three girls bowed their head to Sakura. He watched the women turned away and disappeared behind the palace wall. His eyes met up with Sakura just when she turned around to the opposite direction than the three women. Sakura's expression was comical when she saw him. She was clearly surprised to see him.

"It's you," Sakura spoke when Syaoran stepped carefully towards her.

"We seem to be connected by a string of destiny to continue to have this kind of accidental meeting like this," Syaoran said amusingly.

Her expression changed from surprise to confusion. She took a brief second to compose herself and frowned, throwing him a suspicious look. "What are you doing here? Are you," she paused and swallowed. "Were you following me?"

"Wait," Syaoran said, raising both his hand in surrender. "I'm not stalking you if that what you were accusing me of. I got lost on my way to the training camp and got here somehow."

"You shouldn't be here," Sakura scanned around to ensure that no guards were around. "This is the princess's personal garden. You will get into a lot of trouble if the guards found you here."

Syaoran swallowed. He didn't expect Sakura to be angry at him. He looked around and noticed the flower bushes, the small pond and that huge cherry blossom tree for the first time. "I—I didn't know that this is the princess's personal garden."

Sakura gave him a look over, debating whether he was telling her the truth. "Follow me," she said after a while. "I'll lead you back to the training camp."

"I can find my way to the training camp by myself," Syaoran said. "Thank you. But you didn't need to trouble yourself for me.

"I'm sorry," she said, noticing his tone and expression. She realized he was telling her the truth. He must have lost his way up here because he was still new. "I didn't mean to offend you by accusing you of anything. It's just that. I wasn't expecting to see anyone. I was surprised to see you here."

Syaoran shook his. "It's fine."

"We should go before any guards show up." Sakura took a deep breath and smiled a small smile. "Come with me. I'll take you to a shortcut."

Syaoran was stunned when she smiled. Just a few seconds ago, Sakura was so angry that he showed up at the princess's garden. He didn't expect that she would change her mood so fast.

"It would be safer if I escort you back to the training camp. Or you'll get into a lot of trouble when the guards found you here," Sakura continued when he kept quiet.

"Thank you," Syaoran said, giving in. He watched Sakura marched forward and followed her. He wasn't about to argue with her. He saw no point in doing that. After all, she did say she was sorry. Syaoran also knew that he was also at fault at the first place for trespassing the princess's personal garden. She was only doing her job as the crown princess's maidservant—to protect the princess from any form of danger. Clearly, she saw him as a threat for popping out in a place he shouldn't be at.

"I was wondering," the princess spoke, breaking the silence between them as they made their way towards the training ground. She cast a glance towards Syaoran and looked forward. "How did you get yourself into the garden? Isn't the training camp in the other side of the palace?"

"I was trying to escape from the guard," he said absentmindedly. His eyes were looking around the palace ground with hawking eyes, memorizing each passage for his convenience later on.

Sakura stopped abruptly to look at him. "Why?"

Syaoran stared at her, dumbfounded. It was then that he realized what he had told her.

"Why were you in trouble with the guards?" she repeated.

He let out a nervous laugh and paused when Sakura looked at him in curiosity. He wondered for a while if he should tell her the truth. "You have to promise that you won't tell anyone first."

Sakura stared at him incredulously. Slowly, she nodded.

"The guard caught me when trying to sneak in into the palace," Syaoran told her. "I jumped over the palace wall and the guard saw me. He chased me around the palace. I was trying to get away from him and that's when I found myself in the princess's garden." He shifted his weight and gave Sakura a hesitant looks. "You wouldn't report me to the training camp would you?"

Sakura shook her head and smiled. "No I wouldn't." She turned around and led him through the palace ground. "To tell you the truth, I would sometimes sneak in and out of the palace myself."

Syaoran raised a brow. "You jump over the palace wall too?"

"No," she bought her hand to cover her mouth, laughing silently. "I could never do that. Jump over the wall, I mean. The palace wall is too tall for someone like me. But perhaps if I had more skill in martial arts," she paused when a guard passed them. "But I do have my own way to sneak out of the palace. A few of my trusted friends would help me to sneak out." She turned to face him momentarily. "You can't tell anyone what I just told you."

He chuckled. "Of course. I'll keep your secret if you keep mine."

The two made their way, passing every governments office without much hustle. It was when a palace guard stopped to bow his head to Sakura while they passed him that Syaoran remembered how the ladies bowed their head to Sakura just before they left the princess's personal garden. He was curious for a second why the others bowed to her. He was sure that Sakura held a higher position in the palace.

"Can I ask you a question?" Syaoran said after a moment of hesitation.

Sakura turned to him and nodded. "Sure."

"What exactly is your position in the palace?" he asked. "I saw the three ladies bowing to you before they left the princess's garden. And I noticed that palace guards stop to bow at you earlier. That must means you held a high position in the palace, right? Are you the head of the maidservant or something?"

Sakura bit her lower lips. Perhaps it was the time she told him the truth. "W—well," she hesitated. "The truth is, I'm—I'm the crown princess of this country." Her voice was barely audible.

He looked at her in disbelief. His gaze lingered on her for a while before he let out a chuckle. "Well then, let me tell you a secret."

"What is it?"

Syaoran held his hand up to his mouth and leaned forward. "I'm actually a prince from a faraway kingdom," he whispered.

Sakura held her breath for a full five seconds. "You don't believe me," she said, noticing his playful expression.

"I'm sorry," he raised both hands and smiled. "But you don't look exactly like a princess."

Sakura studied herself. She was still dressed in the outfit she wore to sneak out of the palace and blended in with the locals—a simple olive green colored dress with white linings made of cotton. Of course he wouldn't believe her. Now that she thought of it, she would always dress in something not princess like whenever she met him. Sakura chuckled inwardly. "That's true. I don't dress like a princess."

"You don't have to tell me your position if you're not comfortable with it," Syaoran said. "I wouldn't mind."

Sakura was quiet for a while as they both crossed a bridge to a small stream, making their way towards the training ground. "You will eventually find out what my role in the palace is when the time comes."

Syaoran raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"The time will come when our path will cross again and we eventually will have to work together," Sakura explained. "But of course, you will have to make it as the princess's royal guards first."

"I am going to pass the test and become the princess royal guards," he said in confidence.

"You're quite confident of yourself."

"I do believe in my abilities."

The princess gave him a look over and smiled. "I think you will definitely pass the test," she chuckled inwardly when he had a confuse look on his face. "You saved my life once. I know that you're very good with both swordsman skills and martial arts. I think it would be a waste not to have you as a part of the royal guards to serve the royal family."

Syaoran was taken aback by her comment. He certainly wasn't expecting that. There was another long pause between them before Syaoran decided to speak up. "Can I ask you another question? If that's not too much." he watched her nod and took that as a cue to ask his question. "You're very familiar with the princess. So tell me, what does the princess is like?"

Sakura paused and turned to him agitatedly.

"I just wanted to know how she's like before I start working for her," Syaoran explained. "Rumor says that she's very difficult to deal with."

"Difficult?" she echoed. There was a hint of shock in her tone.

Syaoran nodded. "Well yes. She did postpone the royal guard selection because she wasn't in the mood for it."

Sakura frowned at the news. "The selection was postponed? Where did you hear that?"

"Some of the royal guard candidates were saying about it earlier today." Syaoran cleared his throat when he noticed the tensed expression on her face. "The news wasn't real?"

"No," Sakura shook her head. Her voice firmed. "Of course not. I mean, I don't know. But the princess didn't know anything about the postponed selection. She wasn't directly involved with the selection. The whole process was handled by the commander himself." Sakura halted. Blood gushes to her face in alarm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." she unfinished her sentence and bit her lips.

"That's alright. I deserve to be scolded for badmouthing the princess. And I know that I deserve to be scold earlier for trespassing the princess's garden. You were only doing your job to uphold the princess's name and reputation." Syaoran smiled. "I think that the princess is very lucky to have you as her maidservant. You care about her."

Sakura swallowed and marched away from him. She was embarrassed of her sudden outburst.

"Hey," Syaoran said as he caught up with her. "What's wrong?"

Sakura shook her head emphasizing that there's nothing wrong. "We're nearly there." She pointed up straight to the direction of the training ground. She could see the royal guard quarters from afar. "You will get to the training ground if you proceed straight from here." Sakura watched him observing the training ground from afar and turned away. "I have to go now. Will you be fine to travel to the training camp on your own?"

He nodded. "Wait!" Syaoran said immediately.

She turned around to leave and stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder. Syaoran had unintentionally raised his hand and pulled her by the shoulder, causing her to face him instantly.

Syaoran jerked his hand away and swallowed. His action was spontaneous. He didn't mean to pull her by her shoulder like that. "Uh," he brushed his hand together to get rid of his uneasiness. "Thank you. For escorting me the way back here."

"You're welcome." Sakura said quietly. She noticed his gaze lingered on her and looked away. "It's getting late. I should get going now."

"Oh," Syaoran snapped out of his trance. "Right. Okay."

Sakura turned around to head back to her quarters. She stop after a few steps and turned to him again. He wasn't looking at her anymore. "Good luck with the royal guards' selection," she shouted. A smile formed on her face when he turned around to see her. "I look forward to see you again next time as the princess's official royal guard."

Syaoran laughed at her speech. "Don't worry. I guarantee that I will pass the test without difficulties. And the next time you see me, you're will see me dressed in my new uniform."

* * *

**End of Chapter 7: Sneaking Royalties**

* * *

**Note: **In Syaoran's point of view, Sakura was referred as 'the princess's attendant' as he still has no idea of Sakura's identity.

This chapter could be considered as extra chapter (or what you call insert chapter?). Syaoran's sneaking in scene was supposed to be part of chapter 6, but I decided to take it off and turn it into another chapter while adding more interaction between Sakura and Syaoran. How do you like it? Please review! Sakura will be back to business (or governing) in the next chapter. Please look forward to it.


	8. The Selection

**Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_Sakura turned around to head back to her quarters. She stop after a few steps and turned to him again. He wasn't looking at her anymore. "Good luck with the royal guards' selection," she shouted. A smile escaped when he turned around to see her. "I look forward to see you again next time as the princess's official royal guard."_

_Syaoran laughed at her words. "Don't worry. I guarantee that I will pass the test without difficulties. And the next time you see me, you're will see me dressed in my new uniform. I guarantee you that!"_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For  
Chapter 8: The Selection**

* * *

Syaoran was sitting on the porch in the training ground, adjusting his boot when he noticed Yamazaki and the other royal guards' candidate, Mori, jogged towards him. He stood up with a frown.

"L—" Yamazaki paused immediately. "No. I mean, Syaoran."

Syaoran raised a brow. "What is it with you two? Something happen?"

"Did you hear the news yet?" Yamazaki said with excitement. "The crown princess's royal guard selection will take place tomorrow!"

His eyes widened at the news. "What? Why? I thought the selection would be postponed until further notice?"

Yamazaki nodded. "Yes. But the princess decided to change her mind and withdrew her edict. The training chief posted another notice saying that the selection will start tomorrow. Isn't this good news?"

Mori frowned in disapproval. "I don't understand why you think they are good news. We barely have time to practice and prepare for the selection."

Yamazaki grinned at his comment. He liked it that the princess has decided to hasten the royal guards' selection process. He always thought that the quickest Syaoran and him had to go to through the selection, the better it is. After all, when Syaoran has completed his business in Clow Country, they are going back to Li Dynasty. He can't wait to get back home.

Besides, Yamazaki never has to worry much about practicing and preparing for the selection. His skill in swordsmanship, archery and martial arts are excellent. Isn't that the reason why he was chosen as one of Syaoran's top fighter?

Syaoran placed one hand on his chin and the other was holding his sword. "I wonder why the princess had a sudden change of mind and switch the selection to tomorrow?" He looked at Yamazaki and Mori alternately. "Do you know if there's something going on?"

Mori shook his head, signaling that he had no idea what was going on. "Not that we know of. But some of the candidates have start training like crazy for tomorrow's selection. Some of them are going to meet the training chief and protest the selection. But I doubt that their protest would make any difference."

**xxx**

Sakura couldn't shook off the feeling that moment she gave the Minister of Welfare, Masashi, a hard look during their morning meeting. The way that old ministers had lowered his head and cowered whenever their eyes met. It was as if the minister was afraid that she has find evidences of his wrongdoings.

"Your highness," the advisor said when a few of the princess's maidservant stepped out from the command room or else known as the king's office. "I don't think it was wise to do what you did this morning. The ministers might suspect that we're up to something."

The princess twirled around and sat down on the chair. Her gaze met up with the documents on her table for a brief seconds. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a sheepish smile on her lips. "But it was fun to watch Masashi-san squirmed uncomfortably like that."

Yukito smiled. He too could not deny that he enjoyed that moment where Minister of Welfare cowered behind others. "I was afraid that the ministers would find out about your plan before it even started," he told her.

Sakura grimaced inwardly. "I know. We can't have Minister Masashi to be too careful with his action or we'll never find any proof of his misconducts."

Yukito noded. He was glad that the princess understood the situation they were going to face. He knew that the princess understood how her action will affect her plan to reveal the minister's wrongdoing.

The advisor then recalled how the princess went to look for him two nights ago. She spilled how she snuck out of the palace and went to Kagami village to offer her help to the villagers. She told him that it was the least she could do to lighten the villagers' burden.

He was worried when he heard that she has snuck out of the palace once again. He was afraid that someone might use that chance to harm her like the last time she was tricked to see the commander. But he admired how the princess has used her own money for the villagers' necessities. He was also very proud of her action to put her people first. Clow Country definitely needed such a kind hearted ruler to govern the kingdom after everything. Yukito decided right then that he would do anything to protect the princess's dream—to be able to watch her people with their smile on their face.

The princess browsed through a document quickly and put it back on the pile. She will have to deal with them later. Then she picked up her copy of Great Learning to revise a little bit on her lesson which will began in another five minutes. "How is it going with the royal guards' selection?" she asked, as she flipped through the pages.

"The selection is going smoothly. Commander Yue has commenced the first stage of the exams. The final test will be held tomorrow. But your highness, are you sure you want to attend the exam ceremony?" Yukito shifted his weight while the princess raised her brows. "The exams will take a long time and I'm worried that the weather might be too... sunny."

"I don't mind to get my skin a little bit tanned if that is what you're trying to warn me."

Yukito shook his head. "No. That's not what I was trying to say."

Sakura laughed inwardly. She knew that the advisor didn't mean it like that. "I wanted to go. I need to go to the selection and see my guards' skills for myself. After all I am about to trust them to protect my life."

There was a brief pause between them before Yukito decided to speak. "But your highness, what I don't understand is why you wanted to hasten the selection. I do think that the candidates might be panic with your decision to speed the selection process. They might not be ready to face the trial."

Sakura hid her smile. She wondered for a moment what Syaoran would react with the selection took place earlier than it should be. Would he think of her as a 'difficult princess' as referred her two days ago?

"Commander Yue seems to think that it would be much better that the candidates are not well prepared to face the trial," Sakura said. "That way we can test them and see how really capable they are to face something without much preparation and hired the very best to protect me."

**xxx**

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," Yamazaki said with a chuckle. "But, I'm very nervous."

Syaoran laughed at Yamazaki's comment. "Nervous? You?"

Yamazaki nodded.

"You've been through this kind of test once when you auditioned as my guards," Syaoran pointed out. "Why would you be nervous?"

Yamazaki leaned closer and whispered. "It may have to do with the fact that I only apply for this job with you so that we can learn you-know-what when in reality, I'm here for my top priority: to protect you."

"And you're doing a good job at it." Syaoran chuckled as he patted Yamazaki on his back. "Don't worry about the selection. You're one of my capable guards. I'm sure you're going to pass this trial with flying colors like you did the last time."

Yamazaki grinned. "Thanks. But I'm actually nervous that we might get caught for our," he paused to search for a proper word, "uh, deception. We _are_ trying to get in the palace because of your plan."

Syaoran rolled his eyes at the word 'deception'. "Relax. I don't think that whatever we're doing is wrong. It's not that we signed up as the princess's royal guards to harm her for our political gain or something like it. Trust me. Everything will be fine."

The two of them stood up straight immediately when the training chief walked in the training ground, shouting and ordering the candidates to line up.

"Commander Yue and a few other officers are coming for the exam! Line up everyone! And keep your heads down until I tell you that you can raise your head!" He warned. "Anyone dared to raise their head will be eliminated instantaneously!"

The candidates for the crown princess's guards lined up when someone blew up a trumpet, signaling that the Commander Yue was on his way towards the observation stage. They lowered down their head into a bow as the commander and a few other people walked on the carpeted ground. The music stopped and the training chief told them to raise their head.

In an instant, gasps and whispers were heard when the candidates noticed that a well decorated dais took place on the stage. A woman sat on the dais with a thin curtain sheers covering her appearance. A few palace maids stood on the side of the stage with their head bowed down. Whispers of news that the crown princess has come to observe the selection process spread among the candidates. Their anxiety tripled with the news.

Syaoran craned his neck to search for that maidservant whom he knew as Sakura. He clicked his tongue when he couldn't find her among the maidservant escorting the princess to the exam. "She's not here," he muttered to himself.

"Who's not here?" Yamazaki whispered.

Syaoran turned to Yamazaki and shook his head. He watched Commander Yue bent down to whisper something to the princess. Then the commander walked at the center of the stage and hit the gong.

The royal guards' selection has officially begun.

**xxx**

Sakura nodded as she listened to Commander Yue's explanation on the candidates and exams. There are several stages of trial for the candidates, he explained—writing exams, stamina, archery, self-defense, swordsman skill and much more.

The commander explained that there were a total of fifty applicants for her guards. The candidates have gone through the stamina and writing exams since yesterday and twenty of them were eliminated. Then he pointed out each and everyone's skills and talent—Asami, the girl with long hair, for example was said to be really good in archery. She was the only girl who survived the first few trial and made it this far.

The princess's eyes wandered, searching for that familiar face of her savior. Her lips slowly formed into a smile when she saw him. "What about him," Sakura pointed out towards a candidate who was stepping out the line as it was his turn to be tested. "Is he good?"

"That was Syaoran," Yue told her. "He's one of my favorite among the other candidates. Very humble and a bit impatient sometimes. He's very young. But he had an excellent skill in martial arts. It has been a while since I saw someone with skill such as his."

Her eyes trained on Syaoran as he picked up a wooden sword and began to demonstrate his skills against his sparring partner. Sakura wondered for a moment how Syaoran would react when he found out that she was telling the truth on her identity as a princess once he pass as the royal guards.

"His best friend, Yamazaki showed an excellent skill as his." the commander pointed towards another candidate who the princess recognized instantly as her savior that night she was attacked. "I'm positive that both of them would pass the selection as first class royal guards. I think the king would be really excited if he were to meet these two candidates. He would love to have them as his sparring partner."

The princess's smile gradually faded at the memory of her brother, the king. Commander Yue was right. Touya would be happy to have someone with outstanding skills to spar with him. He loves martial arts and sword fighting.

"They're both the two men who rescued you when you were attacked in the city, am I right?"

Sakura nodded. "They have absolutely no knowledge of my identity when they save my life. I'm very surprised when I found out that they signed up as my royal guards."

"And they still have no knowledge of your identity?"

Sakura shook her head. "No. I don't believe they do."

"Do you know why they come to Clow Country and applied as your royal guards?"

"No. I don't." She watched the commander for a while and frowned when she sensed that there was something in the commander's mind. She turned to watch the trial and said, "What is it?"

The commander paused before he answered, "I'm glad that someone with their skills signed up as royal guards to serve you, your highness. And after the king's disappearance and an attempt after your life two weeks ago, we definitely need someone with their skills in our side."

"But?"

Yue took a deep breath and heaved slowly. "I'm a bit concern as to why an outsider would join the royal guards. I'm worried they are trying to get close to you to harm you."

Sakura turned her head quickly, causing her hair ornament to jingle.

"You're in a very dangerous position, your highness. Not only from the ministers who want you off the throne, but to the other countries who were trying to harm Clow Country for their political benefits."

Her gaze lingered on the commander for a little while as the logic sunk into her mind. "Are you implying that the two might be spies send from other country?"

Yue nodded. "But I could also be wrong. Perhaps their intention was purely to find a work as your royal guards."

She wasn't sure how to respond to the commander's allegation towards them. She knew that she needed to be cautious. But her intuition told her that those two weren't here to harm her. They didn't have the aura that shows that they would do something that would harm her. "Do you really think might want to harm me?"

"I don't know. Only after some times and observations can we learn of their intention of joining as your royal guards. There is not much that we can do right now but to be wary of them."

* * *

**End of Chapter 8: The Selection**

* * *

I thought of revealing Sakura's identity to Syaoran in this chapter, but decided against it for future plans. What do you think of this chapter? Don't forget to review!


	9. That Maidservant

**Notice: _For the sake of my sanity and my further plan, Tomoeda will now referred as Clow Country, and Hong Kong will be Li Dynasty. Sorry for any inconvenience._**

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_"You're in a very dangerous position, your highness. Not only from the ministers who want you off the throne, but to the other countries who were trying to harm Clow Country for their political benefits."_

_Her gaze lingered on the commander for a little while as the logic sunk into her mind. "Are you implying that the two might be spies send from other country?"_

_Yue nodded. "But I could also be wrong. Perhaps their intention was purely to find a work as your royal guards."_

_She wasn't sure how to respond to the commander's allegation towards them. She knew that she needed to be cautious. But her intuition told her that those two weren't here to harm her. They didn't have the aura that shows that they would do something that would harm her. "Do you really think might want to harm me?"_

_"I don't know. Only after some times and observations can we learn of their intention of joining as your royal guards. There is not much that we can do right now but to be wary of them."_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For  
Chapter 9: That Maidservant**

* * *

Lot of things was on the princess's mind. Mostly she was anxious with her plan to trap Masashi with his embezzlement. The meeting with the council will be held in another two weeks and she was going to approve a new budget for next month. She knew that that was when the Minister of Welfare will make his move.

A couple days ago, the Commander Yue had sent his men to sneak into the minister office to find any evidence that they could use against the Minister of Welfare. But so far, the men found nothing that would lead them to any evidence of the minister's embezzlement.

Yukito had recommended that they find one of the minister's staff to act as their spy. Someone that would spill the minister's wrongdoing. But Sakura knew well enough that no one would want to take her side willingly. She heard of rumors circulating between her maidservants on how some of her subject would think of her as a joke. They refused to think of her as a ruler simply because she's a woman.

A soft chuckle of disbelief escaped her.

It was disheartening that her own subject didn't respect her as a ruler. It was frustrating to know that most of them would prefer to follow the Prime Minister's govern than her as the legitimate ruler. She wondered what is it that she can do to make her subject, her people, to trust her.

Yukito had told her that gaining her people trust wouldn't be an easy task. And the commander had told her that it will take them quite some times before she could gain their trust as a ruler. It could be months. Or years.

Sakura started to weight any other option she had. She could have one of the staff from the minister's office to spy on the minister's action like Yukito had recommended. But she knew very well that none of them would be willing to help her. Except if she was willing to offer them a high price. Or what they call a bribe.

The princess grunted in disgust. She hated that idea. She wasn't a fan of corruption. She never liked the idea and she had no idea why she would ever consider it. She refused to stoop so low and do something like buying other's favor with money. How was she going to stop the minister's corruption if she, as the ruler herself was corrupted? Wasn't she supposed to set an example to the others? Wasn't she supposed to be an example to her subject?

Sakura took a deep breath and broke a piece of sweet absentmindedly to feed them to Kero.

Kero, or shortened for Keroberos had been accompanying her since she was ten. She found him lingering around her quarters and decided to adopt her as a pet. Kero had an appearance of a kitten with his golden fur. Sometimes he would have an appearance like a doll, especially when he stood still without any movement. Kero had a pair of wings that allows it to fly. He was an uncommon creature. Not many knew that she kept Kero as her pet, except a few of her trusted persons – her deceased father, her brother, Touya and her cousin, Lady Tomoyo.

"Ow!" Sakura yelped in pain when Kero bit her finger. "Kero!" She scowled at the creature.

Kero looked up and met the princess's gaze for a while. He tilted his head sideway as if he was inquiring her what she had in her mind. Then, he purred innocently and licked his fur.

The princess smiled to the creature. She scratched Kero on his head and exhaled. "Perhaps I should take a walk outside to clear my mind?"

Kero tilted his head up and yawned in respond.

Sakura shoved Kero into her chamber and warned him not to come out. She left him a bowl of sweets and stepped out of her room. Her eyes widened when she found Chiharu stood before her.

"Your highness," Chiharu greeted with bow.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be home? Resting?"

"The doctor told me that I'm well enough to work," Chiharu said. "Because your highness was kind enough to send me the royal doctor to treat me, I was able to recuperate faster than expected."

"Are you sure you're well enough?"

Chiharu nodded. "Yes."

"I'm just glad that you're alright." Sakura blew a sigh of relief and pulled her attendant into a hug. She pulled away after a moment and said, "I miss you."

"I miss you too," she smiled.

"I'm going out to the garden for fresh air. Would you accompany me?"

"It is my duty to accompany you wherever you head to, your highness."

Soon, the princess and her entourage including Chiharu, Naoko and a few palace guards followed her en route to her garden. She stopped shortly when she saw a man dressed in dark blue outfit stood at her arch gate. A couple of her maidservants were having a conversation with him.

"He came here again," one of her maidservant whispered.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked. She tilted her head a little bit to look pass her maidservants. Her eyes squinted to get a clear look.

"He's one of your new appointed royal guards, Your Highness," Naoko told her.

"Wait," Chiharu spoke. She inched to the princess and whispered so that other could not hear them. "Your highness, isn't he that man who saved us the other night?"

Her eyes widened when she got a clear look of his figure. She quickly recognized him as Syaoran. She turned around in an instant in an attempt to avoid him. Her hand jolted up to cover her face. He was not supposed to be here. Commander Yue had informed her that the royal guards will begin their duty after the ceremonial to official appointment been made which is in just a few days. Sakura quietly prayed that he hadn't seen her in her princess getup. "What is he doing here?" Her voice was a whisper.

"He has been coming here for the past few days, Your Highness," Naoko said, gaining the princess's attention. "He was looking for a certain maidservant."

Chiharu turned to Naoko. "A maidservant? Why?"

Naoko shook her head. "I'm not sure."

"Did he tell who he was looking for?" Chiharu asked.

"Well no. He said that he didn't know her name. But he did give us a description of how she looks like. Green eyes, short hair." Naoko paused as she cast a glance towards the princess. She frowned a little bit when she realized that the description fit with the princess. "We couldn't find any maidservant that could fit his description. Perhaps the maidservant was from the other court."

Sakura frowned. "Why hasn't anyone informed me of this matter?"

"We didn't think we should bother you over a trivial matter, your highness," Naoko admitted.

Sakura pressed her lips into a thin line. She swallowed at the thought that he has been looking for her for days. "How long have he been looking for this maidservant?"

"For two days," Naoko informed. She watched the princess frowned and said, "Would you like me to call over the guards to take him away from here?"

"No. That won't be necessary. We will take another route to the garden." Sakura spun around, moving towards the other direction. After a few steps, she halted abruptly, surprising her entourage.

"Your highness?" Chiharu said when the princess stayed in silence. "Is everything alright?"

Sakura chewed her lips, weighting over her next move. She wanted to see Syaoran face to face and ask why he applied as a royal guard. She wanted to know his intention. And not knowing his intention is driving her crazy with curiosity. Although the commander had warned her to be careful with him and his friend as they didn't know what his intention is. But her instinct told her that he wasn't a bad guy. She trusted her instinct. She was never wrong with her instinct.

Sakura took a deep breath and turned to Chiharu. "Actually there's somewhere I need you to be."

**xxx**

Syaoran took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a few seconds. He grabbed one of the katana from the weapon rack and pulled it out of its sheath. Then he began his practicing. He swung the sword in the air, slashing any imaginary enemy he formed in his head, showing his flawless movement. His hand was agile with the sword he handled. Probably because the sword was much lighter than the double edge straight sword he was always carrying. His movement halted when he sensed a presence.

Syaoran pulled his sword and slide it back into its sheath when he sensed a presence. His figure was at ease, knowing that it was Yamazaki. He turned away to wipe his sweat with the back of his hand.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you with your training," Yamazaki said. "I thought you went sneaking out of the palace again when I couldn't find you anywhere. Where have you been?"

"Nowhere." Syaoran said. He grabbed a canister from the rack and drank half of its contents. Then he turned around to watch Yamazaki smoothing his new attire using the palm of his hand. His gaze lingered for a few seconds before he decided to consult Yamazaki with something. "Tell me. How long does it take for me to trust you as my men back then?"

"Six months. I think."

Syaoran widened his eyes at his answer. "Six months? It took me that long to trust you?"

"It wasn't easy to gain your trust." Yamazaki considered for a moment before he continued. "You're not exactly friendly or trusting to begin with. I remember clearly how you would always wear a frown when I see you. I couldn't blame you. You must have been really stressed out dealing with the ministers back then."

"How did I start to trust you then?"

Yamazaki laughed at his question. He studied the prince's expression and exhaled. "I think you started to like me a little bit because I make a good sparring partner for you. But of course, that means that I need to be your punching bag."

"I did not make you into my punching bag."

"Of course you didn't. I learn to work a lot on defense because well, we couldn't really hit you, a prince, could we? I think my defense skill improved a lot because of you. I could easily stay thirty minutes longer sparring with you than the others did." He watched Syaoran chuckled at the memories and asked, "Are you asking me questions because you wanted to gain the commander's trust?"

Syaoran nodded. "I have to gain his trust if I ever want to learn the arts."

"If you ask me, I'd say that you should meet the princess and seduce her to gain her trust. Then the commander would trust you enough to tell you about the martial arts."

Syaoran scowled in disapproval. "I am not going to do something as low as that."

Yamazaki laughed. "I know. I think you need to be just yourself to gain his trust. And avoid any unnecessary scandal that could taint your reputation."

"That's true," Syaoran said. "I know that the selection trial did not stop even after we get to wear this uniform. They are going to watch us like predator and be ready to eliminate us when we're not careful enough."

"It would take some times for you to gain the commander's trust, but that's the easiest way to do it. But of course, it depends on the commander himself. Didn't you already predict that it would take you three to six months before the commander start to trust you with their martial art secret? Don't tell me that you begin to lose your confidence?"

Syaoran dismissed Yamazaki's accusation with a chuckle and a wave of his hand. "No way. I was just trying to gain information so that I could prepare myself. I need a plan. I can't just stay and hope for miracle." Syaoran paused. His body stiffened when he sensed that someone was heading towards them. He raised a hand to warn Yamazaki. His body relaxed when he saw Asami, the only woman who passed as the royal guard and another lady trailing behind her.

Asami stopped shortly when she saw them and turned to the maidservant behind her. She whispered something to the maidservant, bowed and left her standing before Syaoran and Yamazaki.

Yamazaki was the one who realized who she really is. He took a few steps forward and looked at her in disbelief. He never expected that he would see her again after she disappeared when that bespectacled girl took her away from the hospital.

"You," Yamazaki uttered when he stood closely to her. He gave her a look over and his gaze paused as it reached to his face. "You're alright."

Chiharu smiled. She recognized him right away when she spotted him earlier. After all, Yamazaki was her savior. He had been looking after her for a while after she was injured before Naoko came to take her away. "I haven't got the opportunity to thank you for saving my friend and my life. Thank you."

"I thought I would never see you again when you went away with your sister. I tried to find you in the city," Yamazaki admitted.

Her eyes rounded in surprise. "You did?"

"I was worried. You were badly injured when we found you. And you're alright now?" Yamazaki said. He shifted his weight agitatedly. His hand was rubbing against his neck when he noticed that Syaoran was staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

Chiharu nodded. She remembered clearly that little lies Lady Tomoyo had created for the princess's convenience. "Yes. My family has been looking after me. I was able to recuperate a lot earlier than expected."

Syaoran chuckled inwardly at Yamazaki who were looking flustered. He stepped toward him and hung his arm around his neck. He gave Yamazaki a cheeky grin and turned to Chiharu. "Are you here to look for this guy?"

"Oh no," Chiharu played with the hem of her sleeve to get rid of her nervousness. The princess had told her everything she needed to know about the two men before her and the commander's fear on their unknown intention applying as the royal guard. Chiharu looked up to Syaoran. "I was looking for you, actually."

Syaoran removed his arm around Yamazaki and pointed his forefinger to his chest. "Me?"

"Yes," Chiharu fished for something from the sash around her waist and produced a letter. "You're Syaoran, right? I got a letter for you. The prin," she paused, mentally cursing herself as she almost slipped out the word. "I understand that you were looking for a certain maidservant?" she watched Syaoran nodded and thrust the letter toward him. "She wanted me to give you this."

**xxx**

Sakura paced back and forth under the cherry blossom tree in her garden, weighting over her idea to meet up with Syaoran to ask him what is his objective of getting close to the princess as a royal guard. She wasn't sure if he would tell her the truth. She can only hope that he would not lie to her.

The princess looked up when she heard a rustle coming from the top of cherry blossom tree. Her eyes widened when she saw Syaoran. Her mouth gaped open. She was surprised to see him there, standing on the branch of her favorite tree in the garden.

Syaoran was the first to break up the silence. "Hi."

"Hi," she mouthed back. Sakura watched him scanned the surrounding and cleared her throat. "What are you doing up there?"

"Trying to ensure that there are no guards around. You did warn me that I will get into a lot of trouble if the palace guards catch me prowling around the princess's garden," he replied. He scanned the surrounding for one last time and jumped down to the ground without much difficulty. Syaoran smoothed his uniform with his hand and shook his head to remove the cherry petals on his hair.

"I heard that you went over the princess quarters looking for me."

"Yes. I went to the princess's court looking for you to brag how good I look in this uniform," Syaoran glanced down to his outfit and smiled. "But then I realized that I've never got your name. How foolish of me."

"I heard how you passed the selection as the first class royal guard." Sakura said. "Congratulation. The uniform looks really good on you."

"Thank you. But how did you know I passed as first class? I haven't seen you around among the princess's entourage during the selection."

"I've heard some rumors. News travelled really fast in the palace."

Syaoran winced. He of all people should know the palace life very well. After all, he had been living in the palace for years before he decided to abdicate his throne. "Good point. But why are we meeting in the princess's garden? I thought that this is a forbidden area for someone unauthorized like me."

Sakura opened her mouth to answer and decided against it. She had told him in her letter to meet her in the garden because it was the safest place for her as the garden was prohibited for anyone other than the royal family members. She was sure that the others wouldn't see them together here. "I didn't want to be found by anyone from the palace."

He let out a low laugh. He was fascinated by her answer. "But we would get into a lot of trouble if any of those guards find us here."

Sakura shook her head to disagree. "No. We'll be safe here. Trust me."

Syaoran raised a brow inquiringly at her reply. He took a deep breath and scanned the surrounding. Then, he turned to her and gave her a look over. He noticed that she was dressed in plain clothes and a hooded cape.

The princess shifted uneasily at his scrutiny. "What is it?"

"I was wondering," Syaoran paused. His forehead wrinkled at the thought of how Sakura was going to react at his suggestion later on. "How do you feel about sneaking out of the palace?"

* * *

**- End of Chapter 9: That Maidservant –**

* * *

I'm really thankful to those who reviewed, favorited and read my story. I apologize for not updating frequently. I have finished this chapter sometimes ago, but wasn't able to publish it right away because there are lots of things that didn't make sense. For example, when I reread the story again, I found out that Sakura never told Syaoran her name. Haha. And I wasn't completely satisfied with how Syaoran and Sakura interaction in the story. But I hope I will be able to make up something in later chapter. Anyway… I was wondering if there is anyone who would be interested to be my beta for Worth Fighting For. I need someone who could help me to straighten up so that I don't get distracted, or something like that. Please PM me if you're interested.


	10. Risky Game

**Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura isn't mine.**

**Previously in Worth Fighting For:**

_Syaoran raised a brow inquiringly at her reply. He took a deep breath and scanned the surrounding. Then, he turned to her and gave her a look over. He noticed that she was dressed in plain clothes and a hooded cape._

_The princess shifted uneasily at his scrutiny. "What is it?"_

_"I was wondering," Syaoran paused. His forehead wrinkled at the thought of how Sakura was going to react at his suggestion later on. "How do you feel about sneaking out of the palace?"_

* * *

**Worth Fighting For  
****Chapter 10: Risky Game**

* * *

Until midnight.

That was what she had promised Chiharu; to give her until midnight so that she can go out for a little walk with this stranger. If she didn't make it back to her palace within the promised time, Chiharu need to go to the commander and report of her as missing.

Going out of the palace with a man who she wasn't sure if she could trust made her anxious. Sakura wondered for a moment what had possessed her to agree with his idea to sneak out of the palace. Syaoran was really good at convincing her to agree to his idea. He made it sounded like a good idea to escape the palace for a while. And she was tempted by the idea to escape the palace life for a breather.

But now, she wasn't so sure of her decision. She wondered if it was not too late to turn around and head back to the palace.

The princess tightened her grip on the small knife hidden between the sashes of her dress when she watched two suspicious men observing her from a distance. For a moment, she wondered where Syaoran was. He had told her to wait for him outside while he entered the building behind her for some business.

A sudden thought crossed her mind—what if he decided to leave her here in the marketplace and hired someone to murder her?

Sakura peeked towards the building and noticed that there were a few officials in their uniform, guards and a few merchant in there. It was no mistaken that this was a government building. She wondered what kind of business Syaoran was having there.

Before she went out, Chiharu had told her to stay where there are crowds of people. No idiot would dare to harm her in crowds. Chiharu also told her that she should run towards the nearest police post and request for help if anything go wrong. Sakura pulled her hoodies to cover her face and stepped backwards slowly, planning to make a run. She stopped when she bumped into a wall. Or someone. She turned around real quick and a sigh of relief escaped her when she saw him again.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded in respond. Her gaze never left him.

"I was checking for letters from my sisters," Syaoran told her. "Unfortunately, none of them had time to send me anything," he laughed a little. Then he straightened his posture and raised a brow to her. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sakura shook her head, dissipating her fear and thought that he had left her behind in the city. She forced a smile and looked away. "You have sisters?" She watched him nodded from the corner of her eyes and wondered if this was a good time to ask him about his family and his intention of applying as her royal guard.

"We should go now," he said before the princess got her chance to open her mouth to ask him of anything. "We don't want to waste much time before we get to enjoy for fresh night air around the city." He looked at Sakura and raised a brow. "You're a local here. You must have known a good spot or two. Do you mind giving me a tour in the city?"

"I'd like to. But I never get much chance to wander around the city," she said, almost quietly. "The king never gave me any permission to get out of the palace. When I get to travel outside, it was for official matters and most of the time I have to travel with guards."

"How long have you been living in the palace?"

"Since I was very little." The princess replied. She was born and raised in the palace. But she wasn't going to tell that to him. There's no way she was going to reveal her identity as the princess any time soon.

"So you have been serving the royal family your whole life?"

"Yes. It was something like that." Sakura chewed the inside of her mouth when Syaoran started to frown. She wondered if he had suspected anything. She tried to think of something to change the topic. "Perhaps we could just take a walk around the city. I always wonder what the city looks like during the night."

His gaze lingered on her for a while before he nodded. "That sounded like a good idea."

**xxx**

The princess walked around the city, savoring the night scenery that she rarely had the chance to witness. She never thought that the night life in the city could be this lively. Colorful lights and lanterns were lit everywhere and the townspeople were still awake to enjoy the night view as she was. There were a lot of merchants along the street, selling clothes, shoes, jewelry, food and drinks. Some of the goods were very strange and unfamiliar to her.

The two of them strolled around the city in silence. There were a few times when they had a brief chat on the view, or the strange things they found the town merchants were selling. Her eyes flickered for a moment at the man beside her. She studied his build from the corner of her eyes. Slowly, her gaze travelled from his brown hair and paused when she noticed the sword he was carrying—a double edged sword. She had seen him wielding the sword a few times. The first time she had seen him wielding the sword was the night he had save her life. It wasn't very usual to see anyone carrying a double edged sword in Clow Country. After all, Clow Country was famous with the single edged sword.

"You have been staring at me for quite sometimes," Syaoran pointed out.

Sakura snapped out of her trance and looked up. Her gaze met with Syaoran's brown eyes. She could feel blood gushing up to her face. She didn't notice that she had made it too obvious. She looked away to the ground and swallowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare."

Syaoran smiled at her. "It seems that you have taken an interest on my sword."

"It was rare to see anyone carrying a double edged sword in this country," Sakura told him. "Most of the guards and soldiers from the palace carry a single edged sword."

Syaoran raised a brow in fascination. "I see that you know a thing or two about swords. Do you have interest in weaponry?"

"No. I don't." Sakura acknowledged. A faint smile grazed her lips at the thought of her brother. "But the king had a collection of swords and other weaponry from all over the place. I saw him practicing with a double edged sword a few times."

"I've heard the king was a fan of martial arts," Syaoran said. "So it is true then."

Sakura nodded. She tilted her head and her gaze met with Syaoran. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

The princess bit her lips, weighting whether this was the good time to take her chance to ask him whatever was she curious about. "Where are you from exactly? Judging from your accent, your martial art and that sword you've been carrying, I know that you're not a local or anywhere from our neighboring country."

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment. Then, he smiled. "I've told you that I'm a prince from a faraway kingdom, didn't I?" Syaoran chuckled, noticing how she was scowling at him. "Alright, I came from a country in the southern. There is a small country near the country of Tsun."

"A small country? I wasn't aware that there is a small country near Tsun," Sakura mumbled to herself. She had learned her geography as a princess. But she had never heard of a small country near Tsun. There was however a larger country near Tsun called the Li Dynasty. It was three times bigger than Clow Country. "Why did you travelled to Clow Country and applied as the Crown Princess's guard?"

"Hmm," Syaoran frowned. He took sometimes to think. "I love travelling."

"You love travelling?" Sakura watched him for a while and continued. "But with your skills, you could easily climb up to the highest position in your country. You could easily become a general and lead any battle. Why would you apply as a royal guard?"

"You flattered me too much," Syaoran smiled. After a while, his smile disappeared with a sigh. "You're right. I could easily climb up to a high position with my skill. But to climb up to a higher position I will need to be involved in politics. And I had enough of politics. That's why I applied as a royal guard. We are forbidden from involving ourselves in politics. Our sole purpose is to protect the princess in any kind of danger."

Sakura nodded at his explanation. "But why did you travelled to Clow Country?"

"Hmm… I wonder why. I don't know. I guess," Syaoran paused. He had a cheeky expression on his face when he turned to look at her. He shrugged and answered, "Maybe fate brought me here?"

"Fate?" Sakura gave him a confused look. She decided that Syaoran was a strange man. She still couldn't comprehend why he joined as a royal guard, but she could tell that he wasn't a dangerous man. Her instinct told her that he didn't try to get close to her to cause her any harm. At least not for any political benefit like Commander Yue had suspected.

"You know, you still haven't told me your name," Syaoran said, snapping her out of her trance. "Or is your name is as secretive as your position in the palace?"

When Sakura looked up, she could see a small playful smile on his face. Sakura clenched her hand into a fist to control her anxiety and breathed. "Sakura. My name is Sakura."

"Sakura? The cherry blossom?" Syaoran watched her head bobbed up and down. "That's a very pretty name."

"Thank you," she said meekly. Sakura stopped her pacing when she heard a noise not far away from them. She turned around and noticed a small crowd of people lining towards the shop house. She wondered why those people were gathering there. It almost looked like a festivity was going on.

"Ah, a gambling house. I haven't been to one for a while." Syaoran mumbled to himself.

"A gambling house?"

Syaoran turned to her with astonishment on his face. "You—you haven't heard of a gambling house?"

"I've heard of it. A few guards mentioned about it sometimes ago," Sakura said. It was almost two years ago when she heard of a gambling house. She remembered the horror look on the guard's face when they realized she was listening to their conversation. "But I never went to one. I'm curious to know what people do in a gambling house. I heard that gambling was a fun game."

"Fun?" Syaoran chuckled. "I guess it could be fun if you win a lot of money."

"Have you ever been to a gambling house before?"

"I've been to a few gambling house during my journey just to see what was it like. They differ in most country." Syaoran said. He remembered the one he visited his sister, Feimei in Ki Country where the people gambled in a martial arts competition. It was very interesting. He gave her a fleeting glance and suggested, "Would you like to go in and check for yourself what is it like in there?"

"What?" Sakura blinked. "You mean right now?"

Syaoran nodded. "Now is a good time. It's not that we will have the chance to sneak out like this all the time. If you wanted to see what is in the gambling house, now would be the perfect time. We'll be really quick. Then we'll head back to the palace. I promised to take you back to the palace before midnight, didn't I?"

Sakura chewed the inside of her lips, pondering over his suggestion. Then she nodded slowly. A few moments later she was inside the gambling house with Syaoran, watching the people staking their money with the card game. Syaoran explained to her how the winner will sometimes win a large sum of money depending on how much they stake their money.

"Would you like to try betting your money in one of those games?"

Sakura frowned. "No. I didn't know how to gamble."

"I'll teach you. Come on." Syaoran held her arm into his and tugged her towards a crowd of people. The crowds were staking their money in a dicing game. He figured that the game was simple and easy enough to teach Sakura. "Now, watch how they play it first."

Sakura did as she was told. She stood straight with her hand balled into a fist to control her nervousness. It was her first time and she wasn't sure of what she was doing. The princess tiptoed to see pass through the crowd and saw the dealer had four cubic dice in his hand. Then the crowd started to chant various numbers while throwing their money into a designated box with numbers. Sakura then saw another man behind the dealer, jotting down something in his book. Once the crowd stopped betting their amount of money, the dealer threw his dice.

Four. Five. One. One.

"Eleven!" the dealer shouted.

Then the crowd started to make another noise. This time it was more of grunts. A lot of them were disappointed to lose the round.

"What number would you like to bet your money in?" Syaoran whispered to her in the crowd.

Sakura jolted in surprise at hearing his voice so near to her ear. "Se—seventeen." She said, picking up a random number that came into her mind.

Syaoran raised a brow. "Are you sure?"

"I think so," she said nervously. Then she fumbled into her sash to pull out her coin. She paused when Syaoran put his hand on hers.

"Your first time will be my treat," he said. Syaoran stepped forward, handed the dealer two pieces of coin and said his number. Then he went back to her side, allowing the others to take turn betting their money. The crowds were chanting their chosen numbers. A moment later, the dealer threw his dice.

One. Five. Six. Five.

"Seventeen!" the dealer shouted again.

Sakura turned her head to him with her mouth gapped open. "Seventeen! He said seventeen."

"You won! You're really lucky for a first timer." Syaoran pointed out. He stepped forward and took his money from the dealer. When he returned to her side, he showed her the winning money in his palm. "Congratulation." He threw the coins midair and watched it clanged in his palm. "Say, how about a second round? Just to see how lucky you can get."

"You think I should go for a second round?"

Syaoran nodded. "We'll use your winning money for this round. If you're lucky again, you'll get more money."

"Okay," Sakura agreed. She wasn't sure of what she was doing, or how to play the game. She decided to trust Syaoran and see how it will go.

Syaoran smiled. "So what number do you think you should go for?"

She frowned to think. "I'm not sure. Twenty four?"

"Twenty four?" he frowned.

Sakura shrugged. "My instinct told me to go with twenty four. I think I'm going to stick with that number."

"Okay. If you think so." He stepped towards the dealer and stake on the number. He wondered if Sakura would be lucky this time around. He never even thought that Sakura would be so lucky for the first time. The truth was, he didn't really care if she's going to win or lose. He thought that she was going to lose the first round and he wanted to show her that gambling can be a risky game. He was going to show her that gambling wasn't as fun as she think.

Syaoran returned to her side and cleared his throat as he watched the dealer threw his dices. Unconsciously, he balled his hand into a fist as he watched the dices turned on the table.

Six. Six. Six. Six.

"Twenty four!" The dealer shouted jovially.

His eyes widened. He could not believe what he saw. He closed his eyes and opened them again. "I can't believe it!"

"I won!" Sakura gasped. She reached for his hand and squeezed them excitedly.

"You did!" he laughed. He went forward to retrieve their winning money and chuckled in disbelief. He never thought that she would win again. Syaoran went back to her side and handed her the coins. "Wow! Congratulation. Here's your winning money. I should have stake more money if I knew you're a one lucky lady."

"I can't believe I won again" Sakura laughed quietly into her palm. In a second, her smile faded. Her eyes went wide went she saw a familiar face not far away from where she stood. She turned around and tightened her grip to her hoodies, praying that no one will notice her.

"Is there something wrong?" Syaoran asked. There was concern in his voice.

The princess shook her head, feigning a smile to him. After a while, she peeked through her hoodies to look at the elder clearly, thinking that she had identified the wrong man. She gritted her teeth knowing that it was definitely him—Minister Masashi from the Ministry of Welfare.

"Gambling can be a really dangerous game."

Sakura looked up when she heard his voice. She saw that Syaoran too was watching the minister. She tilted her head a bit to her left and gave him a questioning look.

Syaoran gave her an assuring smile. "It can be addicting. Some of these men won't stop gambling, hoping that they would win more money without realizing that they have lost everything. They would beg for credits from the owner, offering their lands and possession to continue their game. Sometimes their loan piles up until they can't afford to pay for anything." He turned towards the minister and sighed. "Judging from their body language, I'm assuming that the old man must have lost quite a lot of money."

Her eyes widened as something came into her mind. Her gaze quickly found its way back to the minister. Could it be that the minister stole the people's money to pay back his debt to the creditors? But this is of course, a groundless accusation. She didn't have any evidence.

Her grip on the hem of her hoodies tightened as she noticed that the argument between the minister and the dealer ended. The minister said something rude to the dealer and marched out of the gambling house. She turned around when the minster stopped abruptly just a few distances behind her. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and saw that he was talking to a familiar man. She frowned as she was trying to identify him, but nothing came to her mind.

"Anyway," Syaoran paused to clear his throat, hoping to catch her attention. "We should head back to the palace if we wanted to make it in time."

**xxx**

The princess panted heavily just as they reached inside her garden. She found her favorite cherry blossom tree and leaned on the trunk to catch her breath.

"That was fun," Syaoran said with a smile on his face. His breathing steadied. It was like he hasn't been running at all. "We should definitely do this again sometimes. Sneaking out."

Sakura smiled faintly at his suggestion. She had to admit that her little adventure that night was fun. But she knew that the chances that she would have the opportunity to sneak out with him again were closer to none.

Her mouth opened to reply. She closed it again when she felt his finger on her lips. She looked up to him in confusion and saw him signaling her to keep silence. Sakura stood quietly and watched him listening to their surroundings. Then she heard a rustle behind her and just a few seconds later, a bright light surrounded her. Her eyes widened when she noticed that they were surrounded by a group of palace guards. Everything went too fast.

"Seize him! And make sure that the princess is safe."

Sakura turned to the owner of the voice and saw that the commander was leading a few soldiers to surround them. She turned to Syaoran and saw that he was struggling to get away from the guards. Her mouth gapped open. "No," she whispered.

* * *

**- End of Chapter 10: Risky Game –**

Thank you for reading! I never planned for Yue to doubt Syaoran's intention on joining as a royal guard in the first place. But as the story progressed, I think it would be stupid for a commander not to doubt his intention. After all, Syaoran was not a citizen of Clow Country. That was how I got the character into this situation. I think it was a bit more interesting than the original idea I had.

Anyway, I hope you had fun with this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think of the chapter. Also... I am still looking for anyone who would be interested to be my beta for Worth Fighting For. Please PM me if you're interested.


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